Perfect Snapshots
by JeskaWood
Summary: Eddie Cullen is an up and rising Australian star just arrived in LA. His career is on the fast track but old anxieties still plague him. Even his play is work. He never slows down. He puts on a brave face, but he's lonely until he meets the beautiful photographer hired to follow him around for a week. Rated M for adult content.
1. Chapter 1

**This is Edward's POV of my story Imperfect Pictures. I believe it can stand alone, but I mean, you'll wanna read IP too. It's good :D **

**As always, tis not perfect. If you see a mistake, please tell me nicely, precisely, or not at all. I am willing to fix any, but I am merely human. I thank you for your understanding and kindness in advance. **

**Chapter-One**

"Explain to me why I'd want to do this, Zafrina?" I asked into the phone in annoyance as I tried to edit some visuals on the computer. This was the third time she had called me in a week about this goddamn Vaudevillian thing. I was sick of hearing about it. I had made my decision.

"You want to be big time or not?" She asked back quickly.

"How is being in a magazine big time exactly? Aren't they dying?" I asked sarcastically.

"This is different. This is _the_ magazine. This is the one that directors read. This is the one that the producers or movie studio's read. This is snobby shit that matters. You need to be in it. This Disney thing needs to be thrown out there. You are quality. We need to be promoting you that way."

"Don't you think I am promoting myself enough already on my own? I happen to like controlling what I put out there of myself." She knew this, she didn't like it. She didn't care. That was not part of her job.

"You still get to be in control. You're getting your way on the photographer. They've finally agreed, and the photographer has already been arranged. He'll be there on the fourteenth of October. And they're staying at your house," Zafrina replied back firmly. "I want you to appear as open and welcoming as possible."

I took a long swig of my beer before answering her, "that sounds terrible."

"It makes you seem more trustworthy to the Disney folks if you're an open book. Eddie, you said you'd do it if you got to pick the photographer. You did. Now you have to go through with it. Stop being a pain in my ass. It'll be fine."

I tapped the bottom of my beer bottle on my desk. "What if this dude is a fucking weirdo?"

"Then you'll have something in common," she answered, making me click my tongue in annoyance. "If he is then I'll personally drive him to a hotel for you. Just be nice. Get it over with, and you'll have more work than you'll know what to do with it. Be charming. I know you can be," she scolded me properly.

"A week is so long though," I whined like a child.

"No, it's not. Alright… Look... You're not getting out of this now. It's done. Anyway, I'm going to send over three scripts I want you to read, I think they're good possibilities, and I have got a couple of offers from Blue Box that I want you to look at. No scripts yet. They involve some motion capture stuff."

I rubbed my fingers over my forehead, a headache starting to form in the back of my skull.

"Alright, sounds good. Send them my way, and I'll look at them," I sighed, already feeling exhausted. I wasn't sleeping well. "October fourteenth. What time?" I brought the calendar up on my computer. It was a Sunday. My day off. _Great. _

"The flight should arrive around six pm," Zafrina replied before quickly adding, "check your emails."

I typed in the information she had just given me. "Yes, ma'am. I've got to get back to work. Have a good evening," I tried to keep the sourness out of my tone. She ignored it and wished me a good night.

I tried to push it out of my head until the day of. Luckily, I was always busy. It made that easier.

The night before the fourteenth, I did not sleep at all, no matter how much I tried. I smoked to try to relax, but my anxiety ate at me as I thought of a stranger in my own home. At least I finished work on two videos and started on a third. I was annoyingly productive when I didn't sleep. It made it a harder habit to break.

As time got closer to when the photographer was supposed to arrive, I moved into my living room so that I could listen for his arrival. I looked at zero of the information I had been sent about it, wanting to avoid the anxiety it would fill me with. I had a script to read for some animated thing that I would rather throw my attention it. Even if I wasn't sure if I was feeling it. Though I might have just disliked it because I was in a bad mood.

My phone vibrated, distracting me from my reading.

"_I am so bloody bored. What are you doing?"_ Jasper asked in text.

"_Waiting for this wanker to show up. Should be here at any moment. Then I'm going to order dinner,_" I typed back. "_It's making me anxious."_

"_Why?"_

"_I don't like people in my house that I don't know."_

"_It'll be fine,"_ he tried to reassure me. "_Why don't you do one of your video things?"_

He was referring to my diary. He was one of the few people who knew about it. Sasha and Tanya did as well, and probably my other sisters did, too. But they didn't care about it. Jasper knew it generally made me feel better to talk my feelings out. He was probably one of the only people I trusted to be almost completely open with. I had been making a lot of journal entries lately. Being alone in America had been rough for me.

"_Yeah,"_ I replied back. "_Probably not a terrible idea."_

I tossed the script to the side and brought up my smartphone, turning on the front-facing camera. I grimaced a little bit and pushed my hair back away from my forehead. I needed to shave. And probably brush my teeth. I showered the night before, but I hadn't done anything all day.

"So, it is October fourteenth, and it is..." I looked at my watch. "Just after six thirty in the evening. And, I am waiting for this complete stranger to come into my home and... I fucking hate it. I already feel so uncomfortable around the media because I don't know how to handle myself completely, but to have them in my home? Fuck. I realize Zafrina wants me to seem as open and as welcoming as possible but _damn._ It's... I'm not entirely sure I can do it. God, I hope they're normal," I said into the camera. I grimaced again when I heard a car pull into my driveway. "And, here they are."

I walked over to the front door, leaning to look through the curtain covered front windows beside it. I could see an older man pulling a suitcase out of the boot of the car, but I could not see the person beside them.

"I wonder if it's the old guy," I mumbled at the phone.

And then the old man handed the luggage over to perhaps the tiniest woman I had ever seen. First, all I could see was her general form, short but heavily curved in _all _the right way. Her wild black curly hair fell all the way down past her shoulders to the center of her back. She was dressed very casually with a long sleeved v neck black tee shirt and tight blue jeans and a flannel shirt tied around her waist.

I realized I didn't know the name of the photographer. Didn't Zafrina say _he_? There was no gender mentioned at all on their website when I did research before. They just had their beautiful bright pictures for sale.

"It's not a man," I mumbled stupidly into the camera because that's all my brain was stuck on. She came more into view as she walked up the pathway. She was very lightly tanned. Perhaps mixed race in some way? I wasn't sure in what way. Her hair was in tight shiny ringlets that bounced around her lovely face when she walked. The feature I noticed first was her nose. It was very strong in the middle of her symmetrical face, just above her very plush light pink lips."Oh, she's _gorgeous_. I think I might be in love," I said in a soft whisper to the screen before I realized something. "Fuck, fuck, _fuck_... I haven't showered," I cursed as I turned off my phone and put it back in my pocket.

She brought the side of her thumb up to her lips, biting into it before she lifted her other hand to ring the bell. She looked so nervous. I opened the door before the dinging sound even began to happen, my heart in my throat already. The small woman looked up at me with huge surprised eyes, her lips parted slightly as she took a step back.

In the porchlight, I noticed that her eyes were different colors. Shockingly so. One was a pale, almost too pale, blue and the other was a solid dark chocolate brown. I had never seen anything like them before. My heart began to thump in my chest. Her hand delicately went up to her heart because I had surprised her accidentally. Her tiny fingers rested just above her breast, holding her own racing heart in place.

_Great start. Let's just scare her. _

"Hello! Hi! Come in!" I said too loudly, my face stretching in my nervous smile. She smiled at me as I took a step back so that she could come inside. She couldn't have been over five feet tall. At least one of my nieces was taller than her, even though she was very clearly shaped like a woman. She was very well endowed, and her full hips filled out her jeans in an entirely pleasing way.

"Hi. Um, I'm Bella. From Vaudevillian Magazine," she said from behind me. Her voice was tiny and a little frightened. I didn't want her to be. How scary was it for her to stay in a stranger's home alone? Especially a large man's? I had to try to not be a creep. Or, an asshole. My anxiety at having a stranger in my home melted away and was replaced with a new sort of nervousness.

"Yes! I've been expecting you. I'm so excited to meet you. I'm Edward. Of course, you know that," I blathered, my heart crawling up my throat again as I spoke to her. _I can do this_. I was good at talking to people. I had to control my voice. "You can call me Edward or Eddie, though. I don't mind either. Here, let me take that," I told her when I realized I was being rude for not taking her bags from her. My fingers moved across hers for just a moment, sending tingles up my arm. I didn't know what to do next, so my mouth just automatically took over. "I'll show you where you'll be staying real quick, and we can put this away. Then I was just going to order dinner if you're hungry."

"Great," she said quietly. "Yeah. I am. I could use a restroom, as well." Her accent was different from what I had been expecting. She had flown in from New York, but she sounded more southern. There was a slight twang to it.

"Right. There is one in your room." I hurried her towards my spare bedroom. I had only been in it twice since I moved in. My maid came the day before to make sure it was prepared for Bella. "This is yours." I had to feel for the light before finding it. The view was better than I had realized, catching me off guard for just a second. When I turned back to look at her again, she was gazing in wonder at the space, her mouth opened in a surprised smile. Her eyes were so bright and beautiful, her thick eyelashes fluttering as she took it in. My hands were actually shaking. _Why are they trembling? _

_What the hell is wrong with me? I've just met her. _

I needed to get out of the room. I was actually starting to feel dizzy. "I'll give you some privacy so you can get freshened up. I'll be in the living room whenever you're ready," I tried to say normally, calmly.

"Thanks," Bella said in a sweet little voice, smiling back at me just slightly. My lips curled automatically in a grin to match hers.

I had begun to have a panic attack as soon as I shut the door. I pulled my phone out so that I could text Jasper again.

"_Fuck, I think I just met the person I'm going to marry."_

"_You are such a dramatic bitch,"_ he responded back. "_What the fuck are you on about?"_

_"The photographer is here, and she is the hottest woman I have ever seen,"_ I admitted to him, trying to take a deep breath through my nose. I wasn't good at talking to women I wasn't working with professionally. My ex used to complain about it all the time. She actually said I was a real sarcastic asshole half the time. Most of the time.

"_I thought it was a guy."_

"_I thought so, too."_

The message popped up quickly. "_Obvo not tho."_

I frowned at my phone. That wasn't helpful. "_Yes, obviously."_

"_So, how hot are we talking about? Can I have pics, pls?"_ He asked in a bid to funny. "_I'm so lonely."_

_"No, she's getting settled in, and I'm not a fucking creepy bastard. She's the tiniest little thing I've ever seen. I can't scare her,"_ I informed him quickly, pulling my laptop on my lap when I got onto the couch. I needed to find out more about her. Obviously, my research from before had not been adequate.

I typed in her name and New York Photographer. The website was Swan Photography. I found a Facebook page that was private with her face, and the next search result was for her store where I had ordered prints for my family the month previously. I did like her photography, even if I hadn't wanted her in my home at first. I was certainly feeling differently about that now. I hated not knowing more about her before.

_Fuck, why haven't I showered? I'm a fucking slob._

"_Well, a good description at least, pls. I need to know what she looks like if you're so infatuated already. You're picky af. She must be hottt."_

I thought about arguing, but he wasn't exactly wrong either. I was picky. _"I'd guess less than five feet. So, like I said, tiny af. So much curly black hair. It's long, too. All the way down her back. Light tan. Olive skinned? Is that the right word? Idk. I'm going to guess… mixed? Probably. I don't know how. Maybe Latino or Asian. She's mainly Caucasian though, I'd guess. Nice lips. But it's her eyes. Holy shit. One is legit blue, and one is brown, and they're perfect." _

"_How are her tits?"_ He questioned next. I smirked a little bit to myself.

"_Perfect. Huge. And so is her arse in the best way possible. Like damn. I have never wanted to grab one more in my entire life," _I joked with him.

"_I bet that's not the only thing you want to do that ass,"_ Jasper replied.

"_I'm not a creep."_

"_I don't fucking believe you. Send pictures, you twat,"_ he responded, making me laugh_. "So lonely."_

"_I'll try. She's been in the bathroom for a few minutes. Hopefully, I haven't scared her off with my freakishly big Frankenstein body,"_ I typed.

"_Frankenstein was the doctor."_

"_Fuck off, cunt."_

He sent me several middle fingers. I heard the door close down the hall, so I quickly exited my search on the computer and brought up a food delivery page. I shoved my phone back in my pocket and tried to pretend that I was normal.

I watched as she came down the hall slowly, playing with her own fingers anxiously as she did. Bella had showered and changed into clean clothes after her flight. I couldn't blame her. I liked getting cleaned up after traveling, too. Her black hair was slicked back into a ponytail that hung over her shoulder. Her hair had already started to curl back around the edges where it was drying. Her new outfit was a short-sleeved black jersey cotton dress that went to right above her knees. It fit her nicely, hugging her hips and flaring out slightly around her thighs. And she was wearing knee socks, making my mind go to horrible places automatically. _Her in_ _**just**_ _those just for me._

I swallowed back my nerves and perverse thoughts and smiled. "You didn't have to rush."

"No. It's fine. Thanks for being patient," she smiled back prettily, her eyes downcast a little as she spoke.

I needed to keep talking, keep moving, so she couldn't see what she was doing to me. I had literally only met her minutes before, and I was being a fucking idiot. I got off the couch and brought my computer over to the bar. _I need to pretend to be normal_.

"I was going to order take out. What would you like?"

Her hand subconsciously went up to her heart again, her eyes a little wide. "Oh. I don't know. I don't know what my options are."

I laughed nervously. I couldn't help it. "It's LA. So pretty much anything you want." _I will get you whatever you want, baby. _

"Why don't you pick a style?" Bella told me as she came to stand beside me. I could smell the fresh hot shower scent wafting off of her beautifully. "I'm not picky."

"Asian?" I answered automatically. That was always my first choice. It was my favorite. My mouth was taking over again, thankfully. My brain had been distracted from my dirty thoughts.

She bit her lip a little, smiling, "sure."

I went to the right screen. My hands were shaking a little. _What the hell is wrong with me?_ She wasn't doing anything or had even said that much to me.

"Chinese?"

"Sounds great," her voice was so soft and sweet. I really enjoyed her accent. I wanted to ask her all about it. I wanted to ask her a million questions. I wanted to spend the rest of the night getting to know all about her.

I showed her the screen. "These are the top ones. Why don't you pick one?" She was so close, and she was leaning over slightly. I could see down her dress to the tops of her very round and lovely breasts. I had to quickly glance away, pulling her a stool out so she could sit beside me. It didn't help, though, and I could still see down her dress. I could only keep my eyes directly pointed at the screen, pretending to read. I couldn't focus on a single word.

Bella selected my favorite place. "I was hoping you'd pick that one. I order there a lot. It's so good. Do you want to get a lot of stuff and just share? So we can have a little bit of everything," I offered her. I always ordered a shit ton anyway, this way I would seem less like a pig.

I loved the way her lips pursed a little when she thought. She looked so kissable.

Sometimes, I really hated my douchebag brain.

"Oh, sure. Sounds great."

I picked all my favorites before passing the menu over to her. It was all the things I would usually just get for myself.

"Okay, what would you like to get?"

Her eyes flitted over everything, but she didn't add anything else to the order. "Duck sauce, if they have it. Um, Do you have soy sauce?"

"I sure do." I didn't like the cheap shit they put in take out, so I always kept some in the cabinet. I went to fetch it for her so she could see if she liked it as well. "Do you want to order yourself a drink or a dessert?" I hoped she wasn't just not getting anything because she was nervous.

"Don't you think that's enough food?" Bella was quick to answer, adding a drink to the order. I realized I had forgotten my favorite dessert, but I really felt like a piggy.

"I guess," I pouted a little bit stupidly. She giggled at my expression, making me smile. It was a lovely sound. I wanted to hear it again.

"Don't let that stop you, though. I doubt I can eat as much as you can." She was probably right about that. But she was also right about the other thing. And I was right to think I was a pig. For multiple reasons.

"No, you're right. It is a lot of food. I tend to go overboard with things I like," I told her honestly as I ordered a drink for now and one for later to have with my leftovers in the middle of the night.

"If you want to split the check I have cash." She actually patted her hip before she realized she had changed out of her trousers and didn't have her money on her. She made moves as if she was going to go get it from her bedroom.

"No, I got this." There was no way I was going to be anything other than a gentleman the entire time she was around. I wanted to impress her. I didn't know how else to do it.

"Thank you," she answered me quietly.

"No problem. In fact, while you're a guest in my home, food is on me," I promised her before even realizing what my mouth was doing. She didn't seem to like this, though. She shook her head, her hair falling off her shoulder as she did. I wanted to brush the water droplets off her exposed shoulder but didn't.

"That's not necessary," Bella replied quickly.

"No, no. You're here because of me, and I was raised to be a gracious host," I told her warmly. That was kind of a lie. My mother hated guests. Well, she hated people in general. My grandparents had always been very gracious, though, and they would have approved of this sort of thing, I figured.

"You don't have to pay for all of my food to be a gracious host," she pursed her pretty lips a little bit, looking away from me in almost embarrassment. I didn't know what to do or say. I shut my laptop, trying to think. My mouth took charge and led the way.

"I suppose it's possible, but I have the ability to do so and enjoy doing it. I pay for my friends," I quoted a line from one of my favorite stupid songs. It had been stuck in my head for three days.

"And, do you take it as a compliment?" Bella said rather flirtatiously, smiling at me as she used my bad song line back at me. She did it to the beat, too. I couldn't help but smile back and nod at her happily. I already liked her tastes in music.

She bit her lip as she considered my words. Bella looked so bashful. "I want to argue, but my bank account says to shut up and say thank you."

"No, it's cool! You're very welcome!" I said too loudly again. I needed to chill the fuck out. "So, I was going to sit outside and smoke while we waited for the food. Would you care to join me?" I tried to act cool, but I was failing incredibly. I stretched, trying to get some of the nervous energy out. She seemed very calm in comparison. She looked off towards the pool. It was why I bought the house in the first place. Bella was so beautiful and thoughtful. I caught myself smiling stupidly.

"Sounds good." Her eyes moved over me for just a second before looking outside again.

Normally, I didn't smoke before sundown, but on Sundays, it was my day off, so I usually spent it somewhat high in hopes of unwinding. I had picked out a nice bud, and they rolled it into joints for me with filters at the store. I kept them in a scent-proof silver case that I had gotten for myself when I first started smoking because I thought it was cool. I was not in any way cool. I led the way to the pool, pulling the box from my short's pocket. She was watching me from her seat, her lips ever so slightly parted and her eyes curious.

I wanted to rub my finger over her bottom lip and see what her tongue felt like. _Fucking chill._ I quickly brought the joint to my mouth and lit it.

"Would you like some?" I took a long draw of smoke into my lungs, hoping it would calm me. It was legal in California, so I didn't feel so bad offering. I had been prudish growing up, so this was quite a difference. She didn't seem bothered, just curiously watching.

"No, thank you," Bella smiled sweetly, tilting her face ever so slightly down bashfully again. It was fucking adorable. I swallowed back, realizing I might have fucked up already. _Cool. Let's just do drugs five minutes after meeting her. Good idea. _

"I'm sorry. I should have asked you first if it bothered you." I hurried to put it out, but she actually reached forward to stop me.

"No. It doesn't bother me. I smoke at home sometimes. I just don't want to be unprofessional right now. This is the biggest thing I've ever done so I don't want to screw it up."

Right, this was work. She wasn't here for me. This was a professional thing. _Fuck. _

"You're not working until tomorrow. But, I understand. Let me know if you change your mind." I took another hit, feeling embarrassed as the words just came out. I looked out at the sunset so that I didn't have to meet her pretty and inquisitive eyes.

"How's the weed here?" She didn't seem bothered. Bella actually seemed genuinely interested.

"Strong. I just started smoking this year though so I'm not sure how it compares to other places. I've been using it for my anxiety and insomnia. My doctor recommended it," I decided to be honest with her.

She tilted her head to the side, watching me. Her hair was visibly getting curlier as I watched her, drying in the dying sunlight. "Does it help?"

Well, that very much depended. "The sleeplessness it helps for sure. I am not sure about anxiety. It helps at the moment, but you can't be stoned all the time either. I don't usually smoke this early, but Sundays are my off day. The weed does help when I can't get my brain to shut off, though." Maybe I didn't need to be _that _honest with her. I decided to change the subject. "So, how was your flight?" Her eyes were so intently focused on me. It made me feel butterflies swirling in the pit of my stomach.

"Uneventful, luckily. Your home is gorgeous," she replied back pleasantly.

I was really proud of my place. It was the first home I had ever bought, and I had paid for it in cash up front. It was all mine no matter what happened in the future. "Thank you. I just moved in a little over six months ago. I don't really have enough things to fill it yet. I only had a small apartment before in Sydney, and I was sharing it with a roommate. My best mate, Jasper," I wasn't sure why I told her all that, but she seemed interested.

Bella seemed to shyly look away again. "Well, I can't judge you for it. I own very little, and I share an apartment with my best friend, too. I sleep in the living room, and she has the bedroom."

That wasn't the answer I had expected. "Oh."

She actually laughed, genuine and bright. "That makes it sound terrible. My bedroom is surprisingly huge and not just by New York standards. We have lovely hardwood floors. Our neighborhood is nice and quiet. Lots of families. And you can see the Empire State Building from my window."

She seemed happy about it. And to see the Empire State Building must have been something. I had been in New York before, and it was always breathtaking to see it lit up on the skyline, especially at night.

"Wow. Do you live in Manhattan?"

She laughed again, melodiously. "No. Not for the price I'm paying. I live on the edge of Sunnyside and Astoria. In Queens. It's not as unique a boast as it sounds, being able to a cool building in New York. It just makes me happy still." I didn't know any of those places besides Queens. I made a mental note to look them up later.

"Well, it sounds like something to boast about. New York is lovely. Maybe I'll live there one day. For the Summertime anyway," I mused, tapping out the ashes of my joint. It was already starting to make me feel a little better.

"Oh, not for the summer. It's too muggy, and there isn't enough air conditioning everywhere like the south. New York was made for Autumn. And spring isn't bad either. Honestly, I love snow, too. The snow is my favorite," she said, almost wistfully with a soft laugh in her beautiful voice. You could tell she really loved her home. Her smile so was friendly. It would stretch out over her straight white teeth for just a second before pursing a little as it curled around the edges.

"It rarely snows in Australia. It does happen from time to time, but it's nothing like I imagine it does in New York in the winter," I told her honestly, for once happy my mouth was carrying on a conversation without me. I had only seen snow when I went skiing in Germany with my family on holiday.

"Especially around the mountains. We always go to the Finger Lakes to see the snow in the mountains and forest. My roommate and I sometimes rent a cabin," she grinned.

"Sounds peaceful."

"It is. We like to go up to Maine or Vermont to take pictures sometimes, too. Just for a weekend usually. She likes to take pictures too, but as a hobby," she explained to me pleasantly. She seemed very much to enjoy the subject.

I didn't know a thing Vermont was known for though. I actually still knew little about the US in general. "What is there to do in Vermont?"

"Um... you can... eat cheese and get lost in the woods. There is probably maple syrup," she said funnily. I couldn't help but laugh. She smiled, pleased to have amused me.

"I like the cheese part." I nodded, tapping my ashes out again.

Bella scrunched up her nose a little, smiling as she answered me. Her eyes were mesmerizing. "The woods part isn't too bad, either. It's beautiful. Especially right now. End of October is the peak leaves season. You should have seen it this morning on the way to the airport from my apartment, so much beautiful red foliage all along the interstate. I hadn't been that way in ages and had forgotten how beautiful it could be, especially at sunrise. And it was foggy, too. Such a perfect serene morning."

I took another hit, my heart beating violently in my chest again for a reason I couldn't explain as I listened to her speak. It was almost as if she was reciting a beautiful poem. "The way you describe it makes me want to take a flight at sunrise in New York City."

"If you're going to travel at sunrise in New York, may I suggest the ferry. You can watch the sunrise behind the Statue of Liberty. It's free, too," she said conversationally. Bella smirked a little. "Well, almost free. It's the same as a bus or subway ride."

I was exhausted just thinking about another sunrise. I was so tired already. I had to be honest with her about my sleep schedule. I was barely scraping by, sleep-wise. It had made me a grouchy asshole.

"That sounds nice. But... I think I'm going to have to warn you right now that I am not a morning person. At all. Like I said, I'm an insomniac. I try not to plan anything until the afternoon. You know, I should probably send you my work schedule for the next week. What's your email?" I said as I began to ramble again nervously. I pulled out my phone for her. I was definitely going to internet stalk her that evening when I was alone, shamelessly.

"Uhhh... Bella Swan photography at Gmail," she looked over, biting her lip as she watched me. I swallowed hard.

I put my smoke down, trying not to seem like a creep. "We should have each other's cell phone number, just in case. Just in case your gate code doesn't work or whatever." I half expected her to tell me to piss off, but she took my cell without question and quickly typed in her number. When she handed it back to me, I sent her a message so she would have my number in return. She giggled a little softly when she saw the stupid emojis I quickly selected.

"I got it," Bella said in amusement.

"Great," I smiled. That went better than expected. "If you ever need to get into the house without me, by the way, I'll give you the passcode. It's a keyless entry."

"How fancy. Well, mine has TWO deadbolts and a chain." She put her pretty chin high up in the air, pretending to be snobby. Instead, she only came off as charming and adorable. I smiled widely. She was enchanting.

The doorbell rang, pulling me out of my daze. I jumped out of my chair to go fetch the food. It gave me a moment to breathe, my hammering heart making my chest ache. She came in after me, watching me from the doorway to the pool. She looked to be glowing angel dressed in all black with the backdrop of the fiery orange sunset against mountains.

Bella helped me take everything out of the bag cheerfully as I got us real plates to eat off of. She delicately used chopsticks while I could barely ham-fist a fork. Her hands were dainty and so small, her arms long and slender. I liked the way her fingers always seemed to go to her lips subconsciously.

I hadn't expected her to be so easy to talk to. My mouth was happily running away with her, but she didn't seem to mind in the least. She took in everything I said with such sweet curiosity. Bella was also incredibly witty, always quick with a full answer to my own questions. She seemed very smart, knowing things I hadn't expected her to know.

I tried to imagine her age, but I couldn't decide how old she was. I didn't think she was much out of college, but I wasn't sure. She was so delicate, all of her feature smooth. Her lips and cheeks were plump, as were her breasts and ass, as I had told Jasper earlier in my stupid texts. I was actually having the hardest time not staring into her eyes, though. They were so enthralling.

My phone vibrated beside me. "_Pics or it didn't happen," _Jasper sent me.

"_You're a dumbass,"_ I replied to him. I sighed as I considered my options. I did want a picture of her. I also wanted him to tell me she was hot too, so I knew I wasn't acting like a tool for no reason.

I had just finished making my plate of food, so I decided to use it as an excuse to take a picture of her from across the top of the table. "Sorry," I muttered. "I'm one of those trash people who like to take pictures of their food."

She actually laughed, "you know I'm a photographer, right? I do it all the time. Like daily."

I chuckled, "I guess I forgot." I decided to take a chance. It would be better if she actually agreed to it. "Can I take a picture of you? I need one for my contacts. It's easier if there is a name and a face."

"Oh, sure." She sat up straighter, holding up her chin to the side and smiling ever so slightly with her mouth closed softly. Bella folded her arms on the table, posing for me briefly so I could snap a quick photograph of her. She had pulled her hair out of her headband at some point and started wearing it around her wrist as a bracelet. Her wild curls almost blended into the black background, except for where the lights reflected off the shiny strands.

"Thanks," I said quietly. "That's a good picture."

"Let me see," she asked curiously, leaning over to see what I had done. I showed her the image. "No, it's not bad. Those phones have such good cameras. I'm going to have to upgrade someday."

She must have been hungry because she ate a lot quickly. By the end of the meal, she also seemed to become more tired. Leaning her temple onto her hand, her eyes looked exhausted with faint hints of purple along the edges. I knew how she felt. When she straightened up, Bella said, "thank you so much for the lovely meal. I think I'm going to head to bed. I've been up for the past twenty-four hours."

"Me too," I admitted to her. Maybe we had some things in common. "I'll see you tomorrow," I replied to her, already excited to be around her again.

I watched her as she left to go to bed from the kitchen, putting away the leftovers for later. Her ass looked so good as she walked, swishing as it went. She had deliciously thick thighs, too. Bella was well built. And she was definitely the sexiest woman I had ever shared a meal with.

I texted the picture to Jasper when I heard her bedroom door close behind her.

"_I can see why you're in love. She could fuck me left, right, and sideways."_

His answer made me laugh. "_Ikr_," I typed back. "_She's got a brain, too. She's funny af."_

"_Does it matter when it comes to those tits? I'd sure like to take her on a bumpy ride in the jeep. God bless that shirt."_

_"It was a dress, actually. A short one. With black knee socks."_ I sent him a gif of a man biting his fist.

"_What are you going to do?"_ He asked curiously

"_Not a fucking clue. What can I do?"_

"_Idk… Ask for her bloody phone number?"_ Jasper said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He wasn't great at relationships, but he could always get dates.

_"Actually, I already have." _

**So, this expands their first meeting a little more. I'll probably do that whenever I write from his POV. I figure certain moments will stick out more in certain people's minds. **

**Just a reminder, this story, and Imperfect Pictures are based off soap operas/serials. It's not meant to be realistic and will, at times, be dramatic and outrageous. The banter is supposed to be witty and charming, the drama familiar but a little over the top. But it's all in good fun. **

**This goes with chapter two of IP if you're going back to reread!**

**This Jasper is so much fun and a little filthy. **

**Thanks for reading! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Episode Two-**

After cleaning up and having another smoke, I went to bed myself. I was exhausted, and I needed to rest if I was going to be human for the woman who was sleeping down the hall from me. I was so nervous for so many stupid reasons.

When I laid in bed, I thought about why the hell I was feeling the way I was about her. It was so quick. I had never reacted to anyone like that before, male or female. I had found certain people attractive, sure, but it usually took me ages to really like anyone.

I was extremely particular about the people I had dated. I had only dated two women seriously and gone on a handful of dates. I did like being in relationships, though. I had been with Vicky, my ex, for well over three years when we had broken up earlier in the year. I had missed her, but I also liked being on my own again. I didn't realize how little we really had in common until I wasn't with her anymore. I didn't enjoy talking to her at the end. I was lying to myself about my feelings for her, but I was trying. I would honestly want to spend my time with Jasper over Victoria any day of the week. She wasn't a bad person, but we were just a bad match.

I hated myself for lusting over Bella. She was gorgeous, sure, but I was not going to be anything else than a gentleman towards her. I tried to imagine myself dating her. She was a world away from me, on an entirely different coast. This was perhaps the first time I really considered how my money might help me get a woman I actually wanted. I wasn't sure if I liked that or not about myself. It was nice as an option to have, though.

I could certainly imagine myself kissing her, though. I couldn't stop thinking about her mouth, in fact, and how she would look up at me as I kissed her soft lips. That quickly turned into something dirtier. I wondered if her breasts were as perfect as I imagined under that simple black dress. I wondered if she knew how that look would affect me. It was a nice thought to imagine her wearing anything for me.

Most women didn't realize that even when modestly dressed people as tall as me could still see down their shirts whether they wanted to or not. Most of the time, it was just embarrassing. It occasionally had a perverted upside.

I jerked off lazily before falling asleep. I wasn't proud, but I couldn't stop myself either. It felt grossly indulgent.

I dreamed about her, but I couldn't hear her speak. I want to hear her voice. A song I knew but couldn't place was playing over us loudly. She was looking towards me in the darkness, flashes of light, and color behind her. It was making her eyes brilliantly flash in my direction. I kept kissing her in the dream, grabbing her face to bring it towards mine. But it would reset like it never happened, and I would grab her again. Our lips would touch for a second, and it was like I was being kissed for the first time. I could still feel the rush when I awoke. My heart ached in my chest.

What I did in the shower after my workout was far less lazy. It was worse than when I was a teenager. I had even gone extra hard on my workout in the hopes of calming myself down, but it actually made things worse for me.

I wanted to try to dress a little nicer for her while still looking casual. I had a hard time and simply gave up and grabbed the first outfit I could find. My tendency to overthink things was eating at me.

Bella was in the kitchen on her computer when I came to the living room. I hung back for a second to look at her from behind. Once again, her hair was down, and it went to the center of her back in a sheet of messy black curls. She was wearing a tight t-shirt and blue jeans again. Both hugged her body smoothly.

Her ass actually gave me pause. The way it looked in her little dark blue jeans, propped up on the stool? It was perfect. The urge to bite it, among other things, came on strong. I felt embarrassed for even thinking about it. It got worse when she caught me looking at her, glancing back in my direction curiously. I wanted to walk back into the shadows towards my room like the creep I was proving to be.

"Good morning. How did you sleep? Is the bed alright?" I tried to calm my nerves as I went to get something to eat out of the fridge. I didn't want Chinese again. It gave me heartburn the night before. Or, maybe it was my anxiety.

"It's was very comfortable, thank you. I wish I could have slept more, frankly," she said politely as I looked blankly inside the cold box.

I had mostly liquor in it. It was kind of shameful. I had been working or traveling so much that I was living almost entirely on takeout. The maid had thrown all the contents away on Saturday.

"So, I'm going to be real honest. I've never done anything like this before, so I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I'm supposed to follow you around and capture your real life, yes, but I don't want to get in your way either."

I glanced back at Bella. She seemed so nervous.

I didn't want her to be. I was always most comfortable when I was performing in front of the camera, even if it instantly turned off as soon as the electronic did. I had a very sudden and stupid idea. It came out of my mouth before I could stop myself. "You won't be in the way. In fact, I wanted to talk to you about something," I was actually disappointed in myself. Sometimes I disliked how good of a liar I could be, even if I only used it generally for harmless things.

I was going to have to follow through. I shut the fridge door too hard. It made the glass bottles in the door rattle in quiet complaint.

"Oh?" She asked in soft curiosity, her head tilted slightly to the side as she looked at me.

I came to sit beside her at the corner of the table that she took up. "I was hoping you would like to be a guest in my videos this week."

Bella seemed surprised. Usually, I only asked people I really liked to be in my videos. My closest friends or family. I tried to control as much as possible. A full week of not know how she would be in front of the camera was a lot for me, _normally_. But, I didn't care in the least. She was lovely, and I wanted to interact with her in as charming a way as possible, as much as possible.

"What do you mean?"

My heart was in my throat as I spoke. She was so close, and I could make out all the details of her lovely eyes. "You know how I like to have my friends in my videos? It's weird to reference my own work like you should know what I'm talking about. Have you actually watched anything of mine? I guess I should ask that first. It's okay if not."

_I am a babbling twat. _

She opened her mouth a little as she thought about her answer, bringing her hand up to the end of her curls to mindlessly play with one of them. I'm not sure she even knew she was doing it. "Not every single one, but a lot of them. Like when you do a taste test or whatever?"

I smiled a bit too big. I knew it. I couldn't stop it. "Yes! Exactly. I've got three videos to film here today alone, and you could be in some of them. If you want to, of course."

"What if I'm terrible and boring?" She looked at me from underneath her eyelashes.

I couldn't see how it was even possible. "How can you be terrible at trying new foods?"

She rolled her eyes, smiling so vast that it made her cheeks grow round and I could see her nice straight teeth again. She had a very mild gap between the front two. It was adorable.

"Okay. Well...The boring part is more of the problem here. I've mastered eating. _Mostly_."

I was almost sure she was flirting with me. I was so bad at these things.

"Don't worry about that. It's my job to be the entertainment. If you don't want to, I understand. It's not for everyone, but I love filming with new people." I tried to flirt back in the only way I could think of. Apparently, that was by lying.

"Yeah, sure. Why not? But don't hesitate to kick me out if I'm bad though," she agreed readily.

I was shocked.

I laughed nervously, smiling at how well that had gone. I pulled out some of the papers I brought with me when I filmed. They were pretty general for guests in the video. The business owners mainly.

"Seriously, don't worry about that. Alright, so... I need you to sign something. It's basically says that I have permission to use your likeness. It's so I don't get sued if I put a video up of you."

"Sure, but try not to make me look like a toolbag, please?" She joked as she signed her name quickly.

_**I.M. Swan**_

That wasn't going to happen. I was going to do my damnedest to make her look like a goddess.

"The only person I make look like a fool in my videos is me. Okay, so do you have Pay Pal?"

Bella looked confused. "Yes. Why?"

"I give everyone who's in my video a percentage. I give a standard amount to my friends... You know, of the ad revenue from my uploads. Or, endorsements or whatever implies. It's different for every video. Some make more than others. Some videos make nothing because they get demonetized for some stupid reason," I started babbling again. I hadn't entirely thought this part through and was starting to feel like an idiot, but couldn't stop talking for some reason. "I do it through this program that divides it automatically, and it will send the money to your Pay Pal once you reach a certain amount. It can be one hundred, five hundred, one thousand, five thousand, or ten thousand. Which would you prefer?"

Bella blinked a couple of times slowly. I just word vomited all over her. _Great. _

"Oh, wow. Okay. Um... I guess one hundred? But you don't have to give me any money. I'm going to get paid to be here."

I shook my head. I always felt terrible when I made money when someone else was helping me. Even when I was just starting out and my friends were just helping me do dumb shit for fun.

"No, I do it with anyone who's in my videos. Everyone. I feel guilty otherwise. Here, just fill this out." I gave her the other paper.

Her signature was only six letters long. _I.M. Swan_. I imagined her mother did that on purpose, her cute initials. Her letters were very loopy and smooth. It was very feminine. As soon as she signed, I felt so much better. I could act in the videos with her. I could be charming with her there. Maybe I could make her like me there and move into her liking me outside of the videos. Maybe. I could hope.

"So, I need to go to the store before we get started. I need to pick up a few things for the shoots. Let's stop for lunch before and then we can go to Target. There is one just up the street." I nervously fucked with the papers, clicking them on the wooden table top. I was trying not to focus on her eyes again.

"Whatever you want to do. I'm just going to bring my camera along with me everywhere and take pictures of you whenever I can if that's alright? Please let me know if I'm starting to bother you or if you need me to leave you alone."

She seemed so apprehensive.

"Yeah, of course. I will, but you shouldn't worry about that. Bring your camera. It sounds like fun, I've never modeled at a Target before," I joked at her stupidly. She smirked at me, so I decided to take it a step further, making a duck face.

"Have you modeled at a Walmart before?" Bella was clearly amused, but she kept her voice even and her face perfectly unmoved. She was good. But so was I.

_Oh, I like this._ I could play along.

I held her gaze. "Yes."

Bella broke out into a full smile and laughed at me, turning her head away to hide her cute giggle. I shook my head, too pleased that it worked so well.

"I've not modeled before. I've done some photo shoots, but I feel very awkward in them. I actually try to avoid the press and all that. I make it part of my contracts as much as possible," I told her honestly.

"Then why did you agree to this?" She asked, confused. That was a good question. I had really actually tried very hard to get out of it. I decided to try to play it cool.

"I got to pick my photographer."

She bit into her plush bottom lip, her nose a little pink as well as her cheeks. I realized I made her blush.

"But... I've never done this before. I just don't understand."

I didn't want to seem like a stalker, so I figured honesty was the best idea. "I got to look at the portfolios of my options. I liked yours the best."

"I've only ever done product pictures for the magazine. I know what's in my portfolio for them. It's not anything to write home about."

I actually knew that. Her name was literally last on the list of choices, _I. Swan- Swan Photography_. There weren't that many pictures under her file. It made me curious to why they would include her, so I looked up the page name online. That's when I found her store. She had so many pictures that I liked. So many that were beautiful. Colorful. They made me feel _things_. Excited. Happy. They were joyful to look at. I sent my favorite to Sasha. She had loved it.

I shook my head as I tried to think about how to explain myself. "I saw your pictures online. The ones in your online gallery. The ones you sell yourself. They were so... _vivid_. Very pretty. I liked the colors. Everything you shoot seems to be so vibrant and full of life, even if I don't know what it is."

"Thank you. That's very flattering." She turned redder, her chest heaving a little as she breathed. I wanted to imagine her like that because of me. Because of things I wanted to do to her. I was instantly turned on.

_Fuck my stupid douchebag brain. _

"It's true. I am excited to see your work. I feel like you will be able to capture the enthusiasm and optimism I want to portray in my work." I tried to spit out as smoothly as possible.

"Thanks," she said quietly. Bella held my gaze for a minute before looking away. "I'll be right back. I'll go get my things."

I felt my phone beep in my pocket. Jasper had just gotten up very early for work.

"_How's the new love of your life?"_ The message read. He was fucking with me. "_When's the wedding?"_

"_Fuck off."_

"_Darling, why must you take things so seriously?"_ He asked me jokingly.

We had started calling each other annoying pet names as teenagers after my grandparents visited and he heard all the things they called my sisters and me. We had become such vicious assholes about it that it turned into a habit. If he didn't call me darling occasionally I would have thought he was mad at me. It annoyed me how much I still did it in my daily life, not on purpose. Like a slang word you use ironically but then accidentally start to use unironically.

"_I am legitimately nervous."_

"_Why?"_

"_I have no fucking clue. Maybe because I think she's hot. Her jeans look painted on, though. In my defense."_

His response was instant. "_Pics?"_

"_Really? You fucking pig."_

"_Take them for both of us."_ I snorted out loud when I read it.

"_You're a fucking pervert."_

"_Look… You want them. I want them. Let's not lie to ourselves."_ He was harmless. Jasper was just trying to be funny. Though, he had been single for several months. Maybe he was just as lonely as I was.

"_What if she, idk, notices I'm taking pictures of her ass?"_

"_Use your charm and just ask her,"_ he teased me. Then he sent me several winky faces. I wanted to punch him in his stupid face because he wasn't helping. He knew that and enjoyed it.

I swiftly put my phone away when Bella came back into the living room.

When I opened her car door for her, she moved past me smoothly, her perfume wafting up towards me deliciously. Or, maybe it was her shampoo. It smelled faintly of coconuts, one of my favorite scents.

I tried to hold up a normal conversation with her. Bella was surprisingly easy to talk to once we started. In the car, she engaged in mindless chit chat with me about the weather happily.

"It's so warm here," she said pleasantly, looking out the window. "There is so much sunshine. It's so beautiful."

"Is there not a lot of sun in New York?" I questioned.

"In October? No. It's been raining quite a bit. I looked at the weather here earlier, and there isn't even much of a chance of rain in the next ten days," she said as she relaxed back in her seat with one of her feet tucked under her other leg. "Maybe a little the day I leave, but it was like a twenty percent chance. So, probably not."

"Yeah. There hasn't been much of anything in months. There has been a drought. Though it's not as bad as it was before from what I understand. I'd like it to rain. We could use it."

"I love the rain," she said in a quiet hum of pleasure like she was savoring something delicious. "Especially at night when it falls against the window panes. When it's nice and cold with a cup of hot tea while I'm working on pictures. Under a soft blanket on the couch. It's the best way to work."

I liked the look of evident joy and wanting on her face. "You make it seem very relaxing."

"It is. I like working on pictures. It's soothing," she told me lightly. I understood what she meant perfectly. I couldn't imagine editing video was much different. I could see us sitting in the same room together on a rainy fall night, working together in pleasant silence. It gave me a pang of loneliness.

We pulled into the restaurant I had picked out. There were only a couple of cars in the parking lot. _Sunglasses at Night _was playing on the radio when we walked inside. She followed behind me, her large camera bag swaying at her side and bumping against her hip.

She ordered a burger and fries while I ordered my regular breakfast foods.

I was feeling very awkward. She was easy enough to talk to in the car, but I wasn't sure what to move to beyond the weather. I wasn't great at real small talk. I heard the camera click as I looked out the window. I smiled despite myself nervously, pushing my hair out of my eyes. Bella smiled as she looked down onto the camera screen, taking about a dozen pictures in quick order. She must have liked what she saw because she took her whole bottom lip into her mouth, looking as if she were the cat who ate the canary.

"Are you sure you've never modeled before?" She brought her camera up to show me one of the pictures she had just taken. It wasn't bad at all. I hated pictures of myself, though. But she liked them, so I didn't mind. I liked her reaction more than anything else.

"Nope, not even in a Walmart," I tried to flirt.

"I guess it comes naturally when you're this pretty," she teased me.

She was flirting with me again. _Right?_

"You must be an amazing model then." I decided to try my luck. But my random number generator failed hard, and I must have rolled a one. I could practically see the _'nice try_' in her eye roll. Obviously, men flirted with her all the time, and I was going to have to do better than that.

"Aren't you smooth?" She began to make her tea sweeter, adding the sugar then squeezing the lemon into the liquid. Bella licked the juice that came out of fruit from her fingers. It was incredibly sexy, but she certainly didn't do it on purpose or for me. I felt like a pervert again.

I had to take a deep breath to talk evenly. "You seem unaffected so not that smooth, obviously."

She put her chin on her hand delicately, her other hand twisting her straw in her drink. Her lips slightly twitched upwards before she answered, "with an opening that wide?"

"Yeah, it was. I'm sorry. I'll try harder next time." I liked her so much already. She was playful, not mean. I enjoyed our banter already so much.

"Why don't you just try relaxing and being yourself?" Bella told me seriously. It caught me off guard a little bit.

"What if I'm boring and terrible?" It came out of my mouth before I could stop myself. She took a slow sip of her drink as she considered her answer, stirring her drink again when she was done.

"There is a reason your videos have been viewed billions of times," she offered.

I laughed, a bit annoyed about that. YouTube was hardly a measure of success.

"That means literally nothing. Terrible and boring things do amazingly on YouTube. I don't understand why people watch me. I don't. I just make videos that are fun for me to make and... It's all a mask, really. One I'm good at putting on, but it's a routine. That's all."

What the fuck was coming out of my mouth? Why was I babbling this to this beautiful woman? She didn't need to know about my major insecurities. She wasn't my therapist.

Bella brushed her hair away from her shoulder, smirking a little bit to herself. She didn't seem bothered by my stupid rant.

"So... none of that is you in your videos? In them you seem so genuine and witty. Funny, too. What a shame. Is there some writer I should actually be speaking to?" I shook my head slowly, slightly embarrassed. "You don't have to act humble. It's okay. I've seen the news. I've done my googling."

"Do you think I'm funny?" I asked.

"You're hilarious. I wish you weren't so self-deprecating sometimes, but I get it. It's an easy laugh. It's a thing right now. It's just not my style."

My sister Tanya and Jasper, as well as my therapist, would think she was right.

"I should probably work on that."

Bella almost looked bitter when she replied back, "what do I know? You probably shouldn't listen to me. I'm nobody."

"I don't think that's true. Besides, my therapist would agree with you," I said sarcastically even though it was painfully true.

We chatted for the rest of the meal about lighter subjects.

We did argue a bit about the bill. When she saw that I was going to be stubborn about it, she put her part on the tray as a tip in cash. I assured her that I tipped them as well, explaining my theory on the subject. Bella seemed to highly impressed with it, though it wasn't very much money. She was passionate about it, though, so much so that it gave me pause.

Bella's wild black curly hair bounced as it shook her around her head. Her forehead was furrowed in frustration. "No. Fifty is a power bill. Or, a week of groceries. A credit card bill. It's a lot for most of us. It's a lot to me, at least. And to a waitress probably, too."

"Well, I just hope it makes someone's day better then, I guess," I said softly. I didn't know what else to say.

She looked away, obviously a little embarrassed for some reason. We didn't make small talk again until we got to the store. But the small talk quickly changed into more meaningful conversations. Bella seemed so engaged with what I was saying, asking me questions, and making me feel like she actually cared about the answers. I wasn't sure when the last time I felt like that with someone in person. Maybe Jasper? It was part of the reason I hated the media.

"Do you enjoy voice acting?" Bella asked as she mindlessly played with the end of one of her curls. She really seemed to enjoy fidgeting with it.

That was an easy thing to answer. "Honestly, it's what I've always wanted to be. Even as a little kid. I'd do stupid voices all the time and drive my mum up the wall. Even when I was in uni and getting a degree that I knew I'd never use it. I was just getting it to make my parents happy."

"What did you get a degree in?" She questioned curiously. It made me frown even to think about the time I wasted there being unhappy. I was so angry back then. I was always so tired too. I never slept then, practically feeling like a vampire.

"Business and Marketing."

Bella was quick to answer, "well, I don't think that's a waste of a degree. I've got a wasted degree. You're still obviously using those skills. When did you start doing YouTube? Before college?"

I wondered what her wasted degree was. She would have told me if she wanted me to know, I figured.

"Way before. I started doing it when I was still in school. Sixteen, I suppose. But by the time I had finished my first year at university, I was able to support myself fully with my videos. I got my first voice acting role right before I graduated. That was almost four years ago now."

She had brought her thumb up to her mouth to chew on it delicately, nervously. She gave a small uncomfortable laugh. "Christ, that makes me feel old. What are you? Twenty-five or six?"

I glanced over at her, confused by her response. "Twenty four. My birthday is in November."

"Ugh..." She said far too dramatically, making me chuckle. Bella was being silly. "You're still a baby!" I had no idea why she was reacting this way.

"How old are you? You can't be that much older than me, surely! I thought you were my age," I told her truthfully.

"Aw, honey, that is so sweet, even if you're a filthy liar. I'm thirty-three," Bella answered me in an impressively thick, somewhat realistic sounding, southern accent. It was actually really good, but I had no time to consider that as I filtered the new information she had just given me.

"Really?!" I said, embarrassingly loud. Then I realized how much of an asshole I probably sounded like. "Oh, that sounded bad. I mean, you don't look over thirty at all. You are very baby faced. I would have never guessed."

"It's not the face. It's the height." She used her finger to circle her face, then motioned up and down with a giggle. "Being part dwarf knocks ten years off, apparently."

"You're not a dwarf. I'd say you're more halfling," I replied honestly.

She stopped, narrowing her eyes before turning to fully look at me. "Did you just make a Dungeons and Dragons reference?"

I just knew she was about to tease me. I could see the wheels turning in her pretty eyes. I stepped into it.

"Yes. Yes, I did."

"Nerd," she said in a monotone way, but there was a slight curl at the end of her lips. It was so light and not what I was expecting at all.

I laughed quietly, "did you play?" I used to all the time when I was younger. The skills actually helped me as a writer. Most of my friends were gamers, too. Even the female ones. We used to stay up all night with snacks, playing. I missed them all terribly.

Bella bit her lip self consciously before she answered me, "yes. And Vampire the Masquerade. Like decades ago, though."

"Nerd," I commented back to her. I liked the way she smiled at my teasing. She tried to turn her head to hide it. I wondered if Bella knew how charming she was, especially when she fluttered those pretty eyelashes of hers at me. I don't think she did.

She stopped in front of the bags of delicious smelling coffee. "Not to change the subject, but do you have a coffee machine?"

"I have one of those pod machines." She pursed her lips in obvious displeasure. "I don't like it that much either."

She was chewing on her thumb again. I don't think she even knew she was doing it. "Do you have a drip machine or a french press?"

I wasn't even entirely sure what a french press was. "No?"

"Oh. Do you like coffee?"

"Yes, but I'm not very good at making it. I don't know what to buy either, to be honest. And the coffee shops are different than at home. Frankly, it's all pretty terrible."

I had never done anything more than heat up takeout in my kitchen. I had barely used the toaster. I was good at eating food, not making it.

She seemed nervous to ask, "would you mind if I got the stuff to make coffee at your place?"

"Why would I mind that?"

"I don't know. It's loud. It'll take up space. I'll have to leave it or throw it away when I go. If not, I can just get me some strong tea, but I like coffee a lot better. And as much as I drink it would still be cheaper to buy the machine than going to Starbucks or whatever every day."

"I have a kettle if you want tea, but I don't have a lot of things for my kitchen."

Her smirk was a little sarcastic. "I've noticed."

Well, this was one way to get her to agree to have a cup of coffee with me.

"Well, you'll have to leave it at my house anyway, so why don't I buy it? I just haven't known what to buy. I need it anyway. You know?"

"Oh… Um… It's pretty easy. You just have to decide what level of lazy you want to be. It's not a huge difference. But, it does affect the quality of the coffee," she explained as if she was very well informed in the field of hot beverages. I didn't have enough knowledge to argue about it with her.

I thought wistfully about the last great cup of coffee I had. It was a couple of months previously when I went back to visit my family. "I'd like a _really_ good cup of coffee. It's my favorite in the morning... or mid-afternoon, usually. And it's been ages since I've had one. Australian coffee is in another league."

"Do you like it strong?" She tapped her lip mindlessly.

"Very. American's is weak, bitter, shit," I blurted out.

"K. We'll need sugar. Creamer or milk, too," Bella told me after quickly selecting a bag and tossing it into the cart.

There were so many boxes, filled with things I didn't know what to do with, in the coffee aisle. She seemed to be considering her choices carefully. Bella made her selection and practically rolled her eyes at me when I asked if she knew how to use all of it for sure. It was almost as if I insulted her.

When we were done picking up what we needed, we started going towards the front of the store to check out. She stopped to look at a tiny black dress with lovely little flowers on it. I could very easily imagine her wearing it and looking even more stunning.

"That's cute," I tried to say coolly.

"I like the flowers." She ran her finger over the neck, tilting her head to the side to admire it. "I like roses."

"Why don't you get it?" I asked her. _Yes, please get it and wear it for me. _

"I don't have any reason to get it, and I shouldn't spend the money." Her expression was a little bitter before it softened in embarrassment. "Remember, fifty is a lot to me?"

It was Target. Nothing was ever _that_ expensive at one of these stores. I checked the tag. It had several clearance tags on it that showed it was originally thirty-five dollars. "It's seven dollars."

"Oh, that's not bad." She bit her lip again. I really liked it when she did that. I hoped it didn't show on my face. I was having a hard time stopping myself from staring at her.

"Is this your size?" I asked her. Bella still had her lip in her mouth when she nodded. I took it off the rack without another thought and placed it into the red cart. Her mouth opened wide in surprise.

"Wait-" she called after me as I made my way towards the front again.

"Nah. Consider it your reward for coming with me on a boring errand run. And for showing me how to use this shit," I told her as I pointed at the two boxes.

"I'm getting paid to do that, and you bought me lunch anyway. And, I'll drink the coffee, too," she replied argumentatively.

I rolled my eyes. "You're not getting paid to pick up Zebra Cakes and Cosmic Brownies with me. It's just seven dollars. It's cool." And if I were lucky, I would get a chance to see her in it. On a date, maybe.

"It makes me feel weird." She pouted out her bottom lip a little bit.

"Why?"

She thought about it for a moment. "I don't know. It just does. Coffee is one thing. But, you don't have to feel like you need to pay for all these things. I know you have the money, but as I said, I'm getting paid. I don't know how others are with you, but I don't want to use you. I have the cash."

I liked that she didn't want to use me for my money, but it made me worry about how well they were actually paying her. "Well, obviously not enough if you can't impulse buy a pretty seven dollar dress."

Bella waited for a long pause before she answered, looking up at me from underneath those thick black eyelashes, "thank you."

"Yeah, of course. You're very welcome." Just looking at her made me feel warm all over. I had to look away and distract myself. I grabbed a couple of sweets for later.

Right outside the front door of the store, a couple of kids had set up a little stand to sell things. They rushed towards us, jumping right up in front of Bella. They were already nearly as tall as her despite being very young.

"¡Hola!" They yelled at her in perfect unison. They said more, but I didn't understand the rest. Bella did though, perfectly. She smiled at them warmly and spoke to them as if she was an encouraging teacher.

"Disneyland!" They said in unison again even louder this time. I understood that perfectly well. I smiled a little to myself. They were selling things for a trip to Disney. I felt guilty for not having cash. They were very cute. I loved kids.

I hated how sexy I thought her speaking Spanish was. It made me feel flustered. I wondered if she was part Spanish. I wasn't sure. Maybe Mexican? I didn't know how to ask. Honestly, she kind of reminded me of a curly-haired Pocahontas from the kid's movie. Or, maybe the gypsy from the Hunchback of Notre Dame.

"I don't speak Spanish," I stupidity word vomited when she got done, walking away with two boxes and a bag of fruit. She actually laughed, but it wasn't in a mean way. Bella just seemed amused.

"I took Spanish in sixth through twelfth grade. I was treasurer of the Spanish club in high school. It's helpful in Texas, where I grew up. And, in New York, too," she explained to me pleasantly.

That made a lot of sense. She still didn't say what she was. I hated being curious. Sometimes I was too nosy for my own good.

Spanish would have been the more helpful language option for me in school. Especially now that I lived in America. Of course, I didn't take Spanish.

"Here, too. I took German in school," I admitted.

"Can you still speak it?" She questioned curiously. I instantly conjured up the basic conversation stuff. She was making me too flustered to think of anything more impressive.

"Guten Nachmittag, Fräulein," I pretended to tip a hat at her as I told her good afternoon and instantly regretted it. I was an idiot.

"Gesundheit," Bella replied back flatly.

"Har Har," I smirked at her. I tried to think of a good German word to describe her. _Schön_ came to mind. _Perfekt_ was another. "Lustige dame," I called her instead.

"What does that mean? Stupid woman?" She laughed a bit again more sarcastically.

Her laugh made me happy. "No. Funny woman. I think."

She pursed her lips a little bit. "So, close then."

I came to open the car door for her. She was so tiny that she had to look up at me with her chin fully tilted upwards. Bella smelled so amazing, perhaps even better than she had right after the shower the day before.

"I don't think you're stupid at all. I think you're lovely. You made those boys very happy. It's funny, you didn't give it a single thought about handing them the extra money but wouldn't buy a seven dollar dress for yourself. I just feel bad that I didn't have any cash for them," I told her honestly.

My words clearly made her flustered. I hadn't meant to embarrass her, but she had a good comeback waiting for me. "They need to go to Disney more than I need a dress. Anyway, you did something nice for me. I can pay it forward. It's not that much. Besides, I needed something for breakfast. I can't just drink the free coffee."

**This goes with chapter 3 of IP**

**Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter three- **

I tried to stubbornly carry everything in with as few trips as possible into the house. It was stupid, I didn't care. The only problem with that was that I accidentally shredded the thin plastic bags that had the chips and sweets in them. I could have, I suppose, put them in another bag or made more trips, but once again I was moronically stubborn. I heard Bella giggle and take pictures of me as I dropped things.

"Goddammit!" I shouted as I embarrassingly dropped them to the floor for the second time in a row.

"Mm, pringle shards," Bella playfully joked as she took a picture of me. Afterward, she helped me to pick them all up and carry them the rest of the way into the office.

"Whoops," I laughed in embarrassment before smiling at her. She returned it a little slyly.

I hurried to set up. I didn't want her to wait even a few minutes. I lined things up, brought us drinks, and set up the table.

"So, I'll do the unboxing video first," I started, but then I realized that once I got started with her, I didn't want to stop. On the off chance that we got on a roll, I didn't want to break the momentum. "Actually, I'll take pictures for the thumbnails first. Then I'll do the unboxing video. And _then_ we can do the food ranking videos. Sound good?"

"Yup. Is it okay if I take pictures of you while you set up?" She asked.

"Go ahead."

I felt horribly awkward as I took pictures of the stuff, and she took pictures of me. It was hard not to notice her intense focus and determined expression. I liked it so much. Quickly I brought up my camera and took her picture. Her eyes got large with surprise. I couldn't help but smile.

"If you don't use a flash you can take pictures during the video if you want." I came around to the video camera, setting it up at the right angle after putting down my handheld camera.

"Good to know," she commented.

I felt more nervous than I had in years doing one of these stupid videos. I took in a deep breath and cleared my throat. I was determined not to fuck up in front of Bella.

"Three, two, one... Hello everyone, and welcome back! I'm Eddie, your not so humble host! So today, I've got an extra special treat for you! I'm a very lucky boy, and the wonderful developers over at Blue Box have sent me the special limited edition of Death Calling, the game of the year edition, and they have given me the honor... NAY! The privilege of being the first to unveil it to the public in all of its morbid glory.

"Not only do you get the game and all of it's DLC, but you get a Creator Science mug, just like the collectible from the game. Too bad it doesn't actually increase your energy in real life. Of course, we need something to put in those mugs! So, we've got ourselves this gorgeous bright red health tonic, cherry pomegranate flavored so it might actually be healthy for you but probably not. I'm not going to drink it because it's too beautiful to waste. It also comes with an enamel pin of the Frost gun, which is my favorite weapon in the game, hands down. Because nothing is more fun than freezing your enemies whole and shattering them into a million pieces like a savage. And then last but certainly not least I am proud to reveal the very best part of this already _amazing_ set. A Funko pop of my character. That's right! Plex, the very best _worst_ robot is getting his very own figure! But this ain't no newb Plexie. No! He is rocking his very own fully upgraded tank armor. And he is a sexy beast. I can't tell how excited this makes me! It's my first Funko! But, hopefully not the last!"

I hammed it up for the camera, being loud and obnoxious as I tried to hurry up through the video to get the next part. Bella was watching me intently, a slight but beautiful smile spread over her plush lips.

"Alright everyone, that is what I've got for you today. If you want to pre-order this awesome edition head over to my website, Eddie Cullen dot com and click on the link or you can go directly to Blue Box Games dot com. If you're not already, please like, subscribe and remember to hit the bell so you can stay up to date with my ever growing ego. Buh-bye!"

Bella took my picture the moment the video ended. I felt my breath catch in my throat as I looked over at her. Her eyes met mine, and it felt as if she was looking right into me.

"How was that?" I asked quietly.

"Seemed solid. I couldn't say to the visuals. I didn't see what the camera was filming, but I think you got it," she told me in return, her voice soft and encouraging.

"Yay, first take," I said in surprised relief, putting my new toys away on my favorite shelf of stupid goodies. It was all my toys, games, and books. I loved it so much. I knew my room was overflowing, but I didn't care.

I realized Bella was taking my picture, so I posed for her, giving her my cheesiest smile as I showcased my favorite loot.

"Would you like to do sweet or salty first?" I could tell she thought I was being cute, so I pushed it further. I did the duck face again since she had liked it so much from before. Bella shook her head a little and rolled her eyes in amusement. "Your choice."

"Salty then sweet."

"Sounds perfect," I said excitedly as I put the chips onto the table. "So, I'll start, and you can jump in whenever you feel comfortable. I'll start on one, like before. Just let me know if you need to stop for any reason."

"Alright. Where shall I sit?" She put down her camera and came over with a bottle of water. Bella seemed eager to take my directions. That was good. It would make all of this easier.

"Either is fine." I put some paper and something to write with on the table so we could keep a tally of the scores.

Bella sat, her ankles crossed to one side. She delicately took a sip of water, taking a deep breath through her nose. She was nervous, but I was ready. I could control this situation. I was excited.

"Okay. Three, two, one... Hello everyone, and welcome back! We've done Walker's. We've done Smith's. We've done Lay's. You've been asking for it so today we're ranking Pringles flavors. But, no, I'm not doing it alone! Today I'm joined by a super special guest. She has the unfortunate task of following me around and taking my picture for a full week. She's super talented, and we're wasting her precious time with our tomfoolery, so everyone give a warm welcome to the very lovely Ms. Bella Swan!"

She waved delicately, smiling. "Hi! I'm really excited to be here actually."

"So, do you like chips? Or crisps as my parents would call them?" I started as if I was going to interview her. Maybe I could be a terrible talk show host one day. Or, maybe like Colbert. That could be fun.

"I do. They're probably one of my favorite quick snack foods to buy because it's just impossible to get the same result from a homemade version," she chatted comfortably. All of her nervousness seemed to be for nothing.

"Do you have a favorite flavor?"

Bella tilted her head to the side in thought. "Of Pringles or of any chip in general?"

"_Mm_, both."

"Pringle's originals are simple and perfect. Of any chip, in general, I'd say either honey barbecue or fried green tomatoes. I have to admit I have to just not buy them because I'll eat them all at one time and they don't come in little bags," she explained smoothly as if she had been thinking about the answer all morning and knew exactly what she had to say on the matter. It actually surprised me.

"Oh, my god! I've never tried either of those, and they sound _delicious._"

I could see the corners of her mouth twitch in an almost smile. "They're both Lay's."

"I'll have to look for those! Those are such interesting flavors! Not very common. They're both very southern American, too."

"You can take the girl out of Texas..." Bella trailed off once again in that thick accent. I realized then that it was entirely real. It was very charming, and I couldn't help but chuckle at it.

"So, what we have here is the top ten selling flavors of potato goodness, and we're going to taste each flavor and rank it on one thing alone. Flavor. We'll give it a number one to ten and then audience we will give you _the_ definitive list of Pringles flavors. I know you've all been on the edge of your seat waiting for this," I started in my biggest voice. I could see Bella watching me just barely out of the corner of her eyes. She was smirking a little, but she looked like she was having fun. I hoped she was.

"First, the original!" I started, but the stupid safety seal refused to come free. In my frustration, I tore it right off. "Dammit!" I snapped at it. She laughed quietly as she took the can of chips from me. With one of her nails, she pushed a hole into the seal and then quickly ripped it away. "Show off."

"If that's showing off, you're in for a long day, sugar," she said in a funny but dainty southern drawl. It was amazingly dry. I was already having fun. Any worries of her being terrible for the camera melted away. She was a natural.

Bella looked into my eyes, holding my stare with a slightly bemused smile. She knew she was getting to me, and she was enjoying it.

"You're not wrong," I told her too honestly, making my eyes as wide as possible as I stared her down. As I did, I shoved several chips into my mouth at one time. I could actually see her cheeks suck in as she held her little laugh. Bella quickly composed her amusement, though.

"They're in better shape than I expected," she began to tease me, popping one into her mouth as well. "Eddie kept tossing them around like a football for some reason."

"Not on purpose!" I clutched my pearls for half a second before moving on. "What do you rank this? Do we even need to talk about the flavor of this one?"

She pretended to look bored. "No. Perfect potato-y flavor. Perfectly overly salted. Classic. Eleven out of ten, would snack again."

"Wow, you're already bucking the system and awarding a whole extra bonus point," I teased her.

"What can I say? I'm a rebel." The words fell so dryly from her lips. It was so perfectly unexpected. I laughed despite myself. She began to giggle as well, both of us looking away from each other as we tried to compose ourselves once again.

Bella was impressively good at this. Shockingly so. I had friends who took years to get this comfortable in front of a camera. Jasper was good at it, but that was because he was as big a ham as I was. I wondered if I felt this way just because I was so attracted to her. I would send Jasper all the footage later to see what he thought. He would always be honest with me.

We went through all the flavors of chips, going back and forth. She was playful, kind, funny, and always charming. Her accent was subtle at times, and at others, it came out thick. Especially with certain words.

"So, what you're telling me is after all that, my extra point determines the winner and breaks a hard three-way tie?" She counted up the score, tapping the pen on the paper as she did.

"That's exactly how it worked out! So, our top three is Originals, followed by the amazing loaded baked potato and cheddar and sour cream! Maybe skip the barbecue. What is your favorite flavor? Comment down below and let me know what foods you'd like me to rank in the future. Bella, do you have anything you want to plug?" I asked.

"You can follow me on Facebook or Instagram at Swan Photography. You can also go to Swan Photography dot com to buy prints of some of my favorite pictures that I've taken."

"And everyone, they're so awesome! Definitely check them out. The links will be down below. If you're not already, don't forget to click subscribe and the hit the bell so you can stay up to date on whatever ridiculous thing I call work next! Buh-bye!"

Maybe for the first time ever, I relaxed beside her as the camera turned off. I was so pleased with how everything was going. We flew through the video easily.

"You did so good!"

"Really?" She didn't seem to believe me.

"Yea! Especially for your first time. I really like your... How should I say this? _Acerbic_ wit. I like the banter. Just relax and don't be afraid to say whatever is on your mind. If it doesn't work, I can always edit it out after."

"In Texas, we'd call that being a smartass, and I got my ass whooped a _lot_ for it," she did her accent purposefully thick to be silly.

I laughed as I cleaned the table. I would probably get my ass kicked back home too. My mum was not against corporal punishment. She was rather known for being a harsh judge in the courtroom. That extended to her home life as well. I got a lot of smacks. A _lot. _

"You're not wrong. But, so am I. Two peas in a sarcastic pod. So, are you ready for the next video, or do you need a break?"

She bit her lip a little. "Can I get some milk to drink instead of water first?"

"Good idea. I'll be right back." I stood up quickly and left into the kitchen to get her drink. I was happy to have a few moments to breathe. I was feeling so nervous again now that I saw how good she was.

I checked my phone. Jasper sent a message that said, _"how is it going?_"

"_Really really good. We just finished filming a video together."_

"_Are you fucking serious?"_ He asked me in surprise. He knew me better than anyone. Jasper knew my anxiety around people. "_You must like her. How is she?"_

"_Good. Really good. Talented."_

"_I didn't realize having big tits was a talent._"

"_It's not lol. She's funny. And smart. And good in front of the camera."_

"_You got this from one video?"_

"_You'll see,"_ I told him. I hurriedly finished making our drinks and rushed back into my office to the patiently waiting Bella.

A thought came to mind as I set up the sweets on the table in front of her. This would show him.

"Would you like to do the intro this time?" I questioned her quietly.

Bella looked a little surprised to be asked. "How?"

"However you like. You've seen how I do it. If it doesn't work, we can cut and start again. We're doing really well on time." We had rushed through the first video. I looked at my watch. "It's earlier than I thought."

"Okay," she lazily shrugged her shoulders. It was no big deal to her.

I sat down beside her and began to count down. "Three, two, one..."

"Hello everyone, and welcome back! Today we're about to get mad diabetes because we're going to rank Little Debbie's snack cakes. This is Eddie Cullen." It was everything I could to not burst into hysterical laughter as she said everything too brightly, her accent too funny. It was perfect. Bella was fucking with me. I loved it.

I could imagine her as the perfect improv partner. She was not scared of me in the least. I could tell she was having as much fun as I was too. She pointed her little finger at me when she said my name. I knew she wanted me to jump in.

"And that is my very special guest, Bella Swan."

Bella looked dead-eyed into the camera. "And if you're seeing this video, please send insulin."

I tried to hold it in. I did. I covered my mouth with my fist as I looked at her purposefully emotionless face. She was so goddamn good at it. I got myself under wraps until I looked back and saw her silly smile. It curved imperfectly to one side, a little scar to the corner of her mouth that moved up her cheek. It was very faint. A loud snort came out as I tried to control my face. Bella slowly moved to look at me, her expression hard as she casually sipped her milk.

I lost it, dissolving into nervous giggles.

"You've not even had sugar yet!" She playfully chided me.

I tried to breathe and control myself. "I know. I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me." I did know. I was a nervous pervert with a crush on the very pretty and very funny woman sitting beside me. I giggled and made jokes when I was anxious. Especially around women.

"Okay, so first we're going to start with the oatmeal cookie," I cleared my throat. I needed to move on. "We're going to split this in half and..." I offered her whichever she wanted. She took one and split it in half again.

I had legitimately never had so much fun filming a video in my office before. I enjoyed them for sure, but she was honestly a riot. At one point, she laughed so much that she almost sprayed milk out of her nose. I couldn't stop laughing. Bella was patient and witty. Her smile was so easy, and her comic timing surprised the hell out of me.

"Alright, everyone! There you have it! Swiss Cake Rolls are king. Cosmic Brownies may be at the bottom of our list, but are they your personal favorites? Let me know down in the comments and let me know what you'd like to see ranked next!" I began to wrap up the video. I wondered if she knew what to do if I just pointed at her.

"So, don't forget to like, subscribe, and hit the notification bell so you can keep up to date with all the sweet, sweet content!" She said without hesitation.

"Buh-bye!" I said too loudly, the sweets rushing through my brain painfully. I laughed, rubbing my skin. "I've got a sugar headache."

"I'm not surprised. You ate all of yours," she said teasingly. Bella was still licking chocolate off her fingers. I wanted to lunge at her, grabbing her up and kissing the sugar away from her lips. I had to look away quickly and distract myself. Then I got an idea when I saw my cheap ass Halloween store top hat on the shelf.

"I can't believe how quickly we got done," I said after looking at my watch. "I think we have time for one more video... if you're willing."

Once again, she didn't hesitate at all. And once again, I thought of her in improv.

"Sure. What kind of video? I'm not sure I can do more food just yet."

"Me either," I agreed. My idea had nothing to do with food, though, but everything to do with getting to know her better. "I was thinking since you're here... Would you like to do one of my 'Twenty Questions and an Impression' videos?"

"Oh," she drew out softly. "I thought you only did that with your close friends."

I was surprised. She had maybe paid better attention to my videos than I thought. I cleared my throat as I tried to recover. "Um, well. I mean, I've done it mostly with my friends, but it really is a game about getting to know new people while being able to practice whatever accent I may get. If you don't want to, you don't have to. I wouldn't want to make you do something you might be uncomfortable with." My dumbass mouth took over and ran away from me. It was the worst it had done all day.

Bella tilted her head to the side thoughtfully before she answered, "I'm not the most exciting person to learn about, but I don't mind."

_Um, fucking doubtful. _

"Awesome! Perfect! Just give me a few moments." I practically jumped to my feet in excitement. I had been literally handed the best excuse to learn about her and film the response to overanalyze later like the weirdo that I was.

I set up again, letting her sit alone behind the desk. I put the mic on as I pulled up the app with the random question generator that I had made myself. Finally, I pulled out the hat filled with the voices for her to pick from.

"Alright, three, two, one... Hello everyone, and welcome back! It's time once again for everyone's favorite filler episode... _Twenty Questions and an Impression_. The show where a friend pulls a voice from a hat and then I ask them twenty random questions in that voice. This week we have our latest victim, the lovely Ms. Bella Swan," I pointed to her.

"Hi!" She beamed before reaching into the hat. Bella looked at the paper, frowned deeply, said, "nope," and put it right back.

"Wait!" I laughed, "which was that?" Bella blushed at my question.

"Southern. Bad southern accents are like my pet peeve. Sorry." Maybe I should have been offended that she assumed my southern was bad. She wasn't wrong. I wasn't a master of it, by any means. Her reaction was so sincere and innocent, though.

"What makes you think mine will be bad?"

Bella decided to be funny, going expressionless again with wide eyes. She saw that she was getting to me and decided to egg me on by tilting her head to the side like a confused puppy. I couldn't help but laugh again, waving her on to pick another accent.

"Scottish." She showed me the slip after she picked a new one.

Oh _no_. My Scottish was terrible. I had made it purposely outrageous for so long to tease my grandparents that I actually had trouble fixing it. I often did it to my sisters to make them cringe. Once my mother outright slapped me for doing my grandfather's accent at a family reunion. I was ten. I probably deserved it.

"Oh! Yer done given me an easy one."

Bella cringed, but it melted into a smirk. "Alright, Mr. McDuck." She put the hat away. "I'm ready when you are."

"First question! Hae ye ever played a sport?"

"Yes," Bella nodded. "I did gymnastics as a kid and dance, too. And I was a cheerleader."

My brain sputtered_. Cheerleader._ I couldn't look at her. I just nodded, quickly clicking the next question. "Question two! Whit movie scarred ye as a wee bairn?"

"Scarred me? Like stuck with me, messed me up. Ummmm..." She subconsciously bit her bottom lip as she considered it for a moment. "Raiders of the Lost Ark. The snake part. I don't like snakes. That, or David Bowie's codpiece in Labyrinth. That ruined me forever." The way she looked into the camera, blinking like a sad broken child, her innocence lost forever, was hilarious.

I actually bit my lip to keep from snorting loudly into the mic. Tapping on the screen, the app wasn't loading nearly fast enough for me. "Three! Whit is ye dream car?"

"A self-driving one. I haven't driven more than a few hours in like ten years. Cars are not really in my wheelhouse."

"Question Four! Is a hot dug a sandwich?"

Jasper and I put the dumbest fucking questions in this thing. I wonder which of us idiots put this one in there. We had programmed thousands.

Bella giggled. "Um, no. A hot dog is a sausage, not a sandwich, but I know what you mean. No. It is meat stuffed into bread. A sandwich usually includes two or more separate slices of leavened bread. And, it is possible to make a hot dog sandwich, suggesting that a hot dog is not already a sandwich."

" 'At was way moor thoughtful than it deserved," I told her, still wanting to laugh. "Question Fife! Whit is yer first fife jobs?"

"Oh, um. I'm not sure if I've had five jobs. Let's see. I started babysitting when I was, like, eleven, like most kids do. Then I started working at my church when I was fourteen. I had to get my Mamaw to sign a special paper and talk to someone since I was so young. I worked in the baby room there until I graduated high school."

"They lit ye wark in the wee bairns' room? So young." My sisters started having babies when I was around twelve, and they didn't trust me to be with their kids until I was, maybe, fifteen, and I was their brother. After a while, they became rather demanding of my babysitting services. I was good with my nieces.

"Well, I actually started volunteering in the kids' rooms when I was like ten to get out of sitting still during church. I started out helping with the toddlers, but then I got a chance to work with the babies, and I loved it," she explained.

I smiled a little. "So, ye good with wee babes?"

"Yeah, I have mastered the newborn to about eighteen month age range, at least. I love babies. Anyway, after high school, I moved to New York. I worked in a family owned Italian place in the kitchen as a cook for about five years while I put myself through school. After that, I started my career in photography and helped my friend start up her non-profit. I worked in the office. And, I've been doing that pretty much ever since. So, I guess that's five?"

"Whit sort of non-profit is it?" I asked her curiously. My charity work was probably one of my favorite parts of my fame. I loved that simply throwing my name towards something could help somebody.

"We help those who might not be able to travel for whatever reason and help them to get exposed to other cultures and travel. We help kids who have never left the Bronx get to go to places like Germany or England. Australia. Or, adults who've been unable to get out of the house because of disabilities and take them to the beach or the garden. There is a whole host of things we do every week. Long trips, day trips, two-hour outings. Classes. It's a fantastic organization that I am so proud to be a part of. It's called Culture for All, at Culture for all dot com. Please, please, please donate so we can continue to open up the world for everyone if you can." She put up her hands, literally begging. She obviously cared very much about it.

"Link in the box down below!" I said normally before I realized what I was doing. "Six! If animals could gab, which wood be th' rudest?"

"If animals could talk... hm..." Bella giggled a little very softly, tilting her head to the side thoughtfully. "Well, I think the rudest can already talk. I think it was Andrew Jackson's parrot that got kicked out of his funeral for cursing too much."

"Seriously?!" I laughed, wondering if she was telling the truth. I would have eaten any information she gave me out the palm of her hand, though.

"Yeah, I think so." She smiled. "Birds are kind of assholes anyway. They're just mad they're not dinosaurs anymore."

"Question seven," I kind of laughed. "Are ye close wit yer mum and dad?"

Her face went instantly a little sad and dark behind her pretty eyes. "Uh... no. I don't know who my father is, actually. There is no name on my birth certificate. My mom died when I was five, so I didn't really get to ask. My maternal grandmother raised me until I was fifteen, but then she passed away."

Oh, well, damn. I felt like such a jackass.

"I'm sorry. I can ask another question. Or, we can stop," I spoke normally, embarrassed.

"No, it's fine. I'm really removed from it all now." She gave me an awkward little smile that was meant to be reassuring. "It happened so long ago. Anyway, I was really lucky because my best friends' mother became my guardian and I'm still very close to her today. Hi, Mrs. Brandon! Love you." She waved playfully at the camera. "She's going to show this to every person she knows."

Well, if that was the truth, I was going to make this the perfect video for her. Though, I wasn't sure if I was ever going to put it up.

"Alright, somethin lighter now." I tried to get the next question to load. It was another stupid one, and I grimace to myself. "Question eight. Whit is th' sexiest name ye can tink of?"

She didn't miss a beat. "Bella, obviously." She was moving on easily. So, I decided to help that along.

"Wrong. It's Edward," I told her like an asshole. She scoffed but then laughed. Then I decided to go off script since the app was taking forever to load again. It's something I wanted to bring up but not seem nosy or rude. "Nine! Whit is yer eye colour?"

She opened her eyes wide for me, leaning forward slightly so that I could look into them. "I have one brown and one blue eye. I have full genetic heterochromia, meaning I have two different colored eyes, or rather the blue is lacking pigment. It doesn't affect my eyesight though," she explained it as if she had done it a million times before. Her eyes were strikingly unique. I wondered if it bothered her. I decided to play dumb.

I tilted my head as I pretended to notice them for the first time. When I did, she did as well, her eyes getting comically wide again for effect. "That's cool," I said honestly. "Like David Bowie." It was the coolest person I could remember from the brief bit of googling on the matter I did. She had mentioned Labyrinth before.

"Bowie got his from a punch during a fight over a girl. His pupil was just always fully dilated, and he had naturally blue eyes," Bella answered back knowingly, smoothly correcting me.

"Gah, really? I'm learning so much today," I spouted out automatically.

She smirked at me before playfully answering, "I am full of useless knowledge."

"Question..."

"Ten."

I smiled at her charmingly. "Right. Not completely useless. Ten! Wood ye rather fin true love or fife million dollars?"

"True love. Money doesn't buy happiness, only security. Beside five million isn't what it used to be," she said without hesitation.

I nodded slowly. What a lovely answer.

"Eleven! Top fife favorite video games. Do ye play?" Bella began to smile as I asked the question.

"I do! I used to play a lot with my husband, less so now."

I was instantly deflated. "You're married?" The words left my mouth before I could stop myself.

Of course, she was married. How could she not be? She was practically an angel. Not just in terms of looks. She was kind and funny, too. She hadn't been wearing a ring, though. Not that I had checked or anything.

Bella flushed and then quickly shook her head as she looked down. "No. I'm a widow, actually."

Several things filtered through my mind. First, I was relieved that she was not married. Second, I felt guilty for thinking that. I felt embarrassed at myself and completely unsure of how to continue. I kept bringing up sad things I was sure she didn't wish to speak about. At the very least on camera.

"Jesus, I am so sorry."

She laughed humorlessly as she rubbed her tiny fingers over the place where her heart was. It was like it still ached, and her hand automatically went to the wound. Her eyes were a little distant for a moment before Bella looked back at me with such intensity.

"Really, you don't have to keep apologizing. Death... _happens._ I get it, though. What else can you say?"

"You're _so_ young, though." I couldn't imagine, this poor woman who was all alone in the world. I had so many sisters and nieces. I had too much family. I wondered if she had anyone on this earth.

Bella shrugged, looking nervous as chewed at her bottom lip for a moment. "Death can happen at any moment. Trust me, I know. My husband just dropped dead of an undiagnosed birth defect while getting breakfast one morning. He was healthy, active, ate right. He had a full check-up the month before because we were trying to get pregnant, too. He was just forty. And he was dead before he hit the sidewalk. That was three almost four years ago, and it's still shocking," She forced a pained smile. "Anyway, my husband used to collect video games and video game systems. Half his office was just shelves and shelves of video games and the books that go with them. Even if they were terrible, for some reason." She shook her head and smiled wistfully.

"I'd probably say my favorite games are," she pushed on. "Gosh, that's hard... Final Fantasy X. Kingdom Hearts, the first one. Any of the Mario Kart games. Maybe one of the Grand Theft Auto series or maybe the Mass Effect series. One and two were both great. But if we just go on the sheer number of hours played it would probably be World of Warcraft or Stardew Valley. I've played both for literal months. Don't Starve, too. Or, maybe old school Rollercoaster Tycoon."

She basically listed off all of my favorite games. Every single one of them I had played obsessively.

"I like those, too," I tried to hide my excitement as I put my accent into place again.

"I'm a filthy casual, though."

"That tis th' dumbest tin," I shook my head. I frowned at the voice. "Oh, that sounded more Jamaican."

"How many people are you going to offend with this accent, by the way?" She asked sarcastically.

I scoffed at her question. I decided to be somewhat honest. "Well... I'm doing a near spot-on impression of me grandpa, so... at least my entire family."

I couldn't help my smile as she laughed. It was a lovely sound.

"Question twelve. Wood ye rather ne'er be angry again or envious again?"

"I'm not really a jealous or possessive person. But I am angry all the time. I don't know what I'd do with myself if I was never angry again, though. Anger is a powerful tool. It forces change. But, I guess anger. I don't think either would be beneficial." Everything that came from her mouth seemed to be well thought out and genuine.

So, I decided to be an idiot and do a Yoda impression. "Anger leads to hate."

"Only if you don't do anything about it," she countered.

"Wise, you are," I did in the Yoda voice again before going back into the terrible Scottish. "Thirteen. Favorite book?"

"A Stranger beside me by Ann Rule." Never heard of it. I would research that at a later date.

"Fourteen. Where war ye born?"

"Houston, Texas." She did say she was from Texas. It really did explain the accent though. I had never been to Houston before. I had only been in Dallas once for a flight.

"Question fifteen. Whit any person wood ye like tae have dinner wit? Livin o ded."

"My father," she replied simply. Bella didn't seem bothered by it, so I decided to ask a question. She was the one bringing it back up after all.

"So, you really don't have any idea?"

"No. Not really. I only have the vaguest context clues. My appearance is the biggest. I'm guessing he was probably Mexican or maybe Afro-Latino. My hair is pretty curly and thick, but I'm pretty light. I don't know, though. My white mom worked at a Tex-Mex restaurant when she got pregnant, I think. And, I think if he had been white, or passing at least, my mom's parents would have forced a shotgun wedding but I think their racism was stronger than their religion. My grandmother really improved after my grandfather and mom died, though. I don't know if she knew who it was either or if I was just too young for her to tell me before she died. My grandmother didn't talk about any of it, though, to be honest. She barely spoke about my mom at all," Bella explained to me. I'm not sure she meant to tell me all of this. She seemed so opened and exposed. I could tell right away that it upset her. This also answered a question I had. She didn't know what nationality she was either.

"That's a lot for a kid to handle," I told her truthfully. I wanted to comfort her so badly despite only knowing her a single day.

"I think it would be a lot for anyone at any age. It sucks. But we can move on though if you like," she encouraged.

"Right, sorry," I cleared my throat, wanting to move on, too. "Question sixteen. Oh, no. I don't think I can ask this one," the words slipped from my lips before I could stop them. I instantly turned red. Why did I have to add these stupid questions to this?

"What is it?" Bella asked, her head slightly tilted to the side in curiosity.

I wanted to crawl into a hole. I covered the mic with my hand before I whispered, "does the carpet match the drapes?"

Bella wasn't bothered in the least. She laughed loudly, throwing her head back. It made her lovely hair bounce. "I've never dyed my hair before. So, take from that what you will."

I was having a hard time keeping myself from wondering what the carpet looked like.

"Oh god," I laughed nervously as I forcefully rubbed my eyes. "Okay. _Okay_, um. Moving on. Seventeen. Whit is yer most visited website?"

For me, it was my own. It took up a lot of my damn time.

She bit her lip as she thought about it for a second. "The one I put all the photos I take for just me. I spend a lot of time editing and arranging them in groups. I find it really soothing. It's my meditation."

"So, ye hav' a personal collection?"

"A massive one, yea. Just because I find something interesting doesn't mean it will sell as a print or poster. I'm always surprised at what sells. All my friends and family can see them, though. They're not private or anything." She smiled at me a little bit charmingly. I needed to see those pictures. I needed to know what she liked and found interesting.

"I want to see them. If that's okay. I really like what you're selling," I asked quietly.

"I can send you the link later. And, If you see anything you really like, I can put it in the shop," she told me like a smart businesswoman.

"Yas, thenks. Question eighteen. Whit is yae guilty pleasure?"

_Please say rolling around with nerdy Australian men in the nude, _my brain joked at me.

"Um... Guilty pleasures usually refer to food, and I actually have a really hard time keeping on weight so I kind of just eat everything and as much as I want. And I don't feel guilty about anything I do that gives me pleasure, to be honest," she laughed nervously. "I do try to not keep the worst stuff out of the house because I will eat it all, but when I do get it, I never feel bad. Life is too short. Don't deny yourself pleasure."

_Her answer was better,_ my brain mocked me before it tried to turn off for the day. All I wanted to do for the rest of the evening was think about her and all the pleasure she wasn't denying herself. I cleared my throat and willed myself forward.

"Question nineteen. Whit is yer favorite drink?"

"Coffee." I could see the 'obviously' in her sassy little smile. It was hard not to return it.

"Last question. Book o' telly?"

"Audiobook."

Of course, she had to give her own answer. It was perfect.

I went back to my announcer's voice. "Fantastic! And there we have it! If you enjoyed this interview and would like to see the extended version, you can visit my page, Eddie Cullen dot com, and for just a five dollar donation you can unlock unlimited access to tons of bonus content for a whole month! And best of all is that one hundred percent of donations are given to the charity of the month! So, please like, subscribe, and don't forget to hit the notifications button! Buh-bye!" I stopped for a second to consider what I wanted to do next. I thought about it only briefly. "Bella, why don't you do a blurb about your website? I can add it in as an end card to anything you're in so you just don't have to keep repeating it."

It would bring so much business to her little website. I hoped, at least. The companies I supported always talked about how pleased they were with sales after working with me. Hopefully, the boost would go to her as well.

Bella smiled as she looked directly into the camera. Smoothly she gave me a nice clip to add to the end of any video. "Hi, my name is Bella Swan, and I am a freelance photographer from New York City. If you're interested in purchasing a print, postcard, mug, canvas, or something else equally cool, you can visit my website, Swan Photography dot com. You can also follow me on Facebook and Instagram at the same name. Thanks! Bye!"

"My goodness. What a video that's going to be. Don't worry, I'll not put anything too personal. I promise." I wasn't sure if I would ever put it up, to be honest. I almost wanted to squirrel it away just for me. I was definitely going to spend the night overthinking her every answer. And I was going to make Jasper watch the whole damn thing.

"It's fine. I don't mind. I wouldn't have told you if I was uncomfortable with it," she told me quickly as she stood from the table. Bella picked up her camera and twisted it in her hands to look at the settings. Her lovely, naturally black hair fell over her face like a curtain. I wanted to brush it away so that I could look into her eyes.

"Thank you for being so open," I said genuinely.

I knew without a doubt that every answer she gave me was true. Bella seemed almost honest to a fault. I adored it. I wanted her to be truthful with me. This personable little woman wasn't scared of me in the least. Between my height and now a being celebrity, women tended to have one of two reactions to me. They either stared at me with wide-eyed fear or nervousness, or they tried to figure out how willingly I would get into their pants. They were always disappointed. I didn't enjoy casual sex. I was too anxious and too controlling to find it fun. Otherwise, I would be getting laid every single night.

Shockingly, she took my picture, pulling me out of my thoughts before Bella whispered, "you're welcome."

**So there are Bella's first videos with Eddie! They both had a lot of fun. **

**So, this chapter is basically entirely Edward's POV of chapter 4 of Imperfect Pictures. This has less new stuff added, but this one is an important one from his POV. **

**Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Episode four- **

"_So?_" I texted Jasper just after one in the morning. I had barely given him enough time to get home and watch the video that I had sent him. He had an extremely long day, and I knew that. I was being a pushy asshole. I couldn't seem to stop myself.

"_I can see why you're charmed_," he replied back vaguely.

"_What does that mean_?"

"_Well, we already agree on the banging body so we'll skip that. Let's start with that accent. I know your thing for them._"

"_Yeah, okay. I'll give you that. It is charming. She's Texan._"

"_I saw that,_" he answered. I could almost see the sarcasm dripping from it. "_She's had a hard life. Poor little wounded bird. No family. Dead husband. She seems sad. But, she still seems like a good person. I get what you like about her_."

"_It's not just how she looks_," I answered quickly.

"_No. I can see that. It just really helps. Really, really, really helps_."

"_Right?_" I actually laughed out loud when I typed it. "_I like her smile_."

_"I agree with you that she's funny. That snack cake video is going to hilarious. She's got a really good sense of timing. You play off of each other really well._"

"_I told her she was a natural_."

"_She is. Are you sure she's never done anything like this before?_" He asked next.

I thought about it for a moment. "_I'm not sure. I don't think she's done this bullshit before. From her past five jobs, I'd say not. I would watch her if she had a channel."_

"_And not just because of the tits."_

"_Omg, stfu you fucking moron. Yes. Not just because of her awesome assets, asshole_."

"_I like your alliteration,_" he commented, sending several smiling faces.

I sighed to myself. "_You're such a fucking stoner_."

"_So are you now_," he answered back quickly. Jasper thought it was funny. He had been trying to corrupt me for years. He had been smoking since he was in his early teens. I always thought he was incredibly cool. I just figured out he was just incredibly shy and nervous like me. He just figured it out on his own that it helped. "_She's got all the answers. Do you think she ever says 'idk'?_"

"_Idk lol. Do I_?"

"_No lol_," he replied. I knew he actually laughed at that. I could almost imagine his smile and the voice he used when he said it. I missed him terribly and wish he was there so I could actually talk to him. "_Christ, you're going to get so many thirsty comments on any video she's in. Especially any of the food ones. She keeps sucking on her fingers in the sweets one_."

"_I know_," I replied.

"_I bet you're so horny lol_," he said meanly.

"_You're really not being helpful_," I informed him.

"_I'm not intending to be. So. Come on. What are you going to do? You obviously want to bang this chick. It's pretty clear in the videos. You're all dopey and giggly and look like you're about to eat the poor girl_."

"_God, is it that fucking obvious_?"

"_To me? Yes. To her, idk. She likes you too, though. She's all giggles and smiles, too._"

"_Probably not after twenty questions_."

"_Idk if that actually bothered her or not_," he replied quickly. "_She seems so raw._"

"_She does_."

"_So, answer my question. Now what? You've got her number. She's given it to you. Are you going to try to sleep with her? This is the most interesting thing that has happened in a month, and I'm wholly too invested in your self created drama._"

"_I don't want to just sleep with her._"

"_Just lol_," he answered.

I actually laughed out loud again. "_No, lol. I want to know everything about her. I want to find out what makes her happy and give it all to her. I want to give her the world._"

"_Goddamn. You are so fucking dramatic, darling._"

I sighed, " _Yeah, I know. Anyway, I should go to bed. I'm going to get my tattoo tomorrow_."

"_Good luck. Sweet dreams_."

When I got out of the shower in the morning after working out, the house smelled deliciously of coffee. I hurriedly dressed and followed the delightful smell into the living room. Bella was already working in the kitchen, a small smile on her face when she noticed me. I decided to be a ham, lifting my nose in the air to take in a deep sniff.

"That makes the whole house smell _so_ good," I told her as I came to sit in front of her at the bar.

"Would you like a cup?" She asked sweetly.

"Yes, please."

"How do you take it?" She asked without hesitation, quickly going to get a clean cup to make my drink. She seemed to have so much more energy than me. I felt exhausted.

"A little sugar, a little creamer."

"One or two sugars?"

"Two." I liked my coffee sugary.

"The creamer is sweet."

"I know," I grinned ruefully. "Otherwise it would be three. Or, five."

Bella giggled quietly, making me the drink as I requested before carefully passing it to me. It was actually better than I expected. I groaned into the cup, slurping it down eagerly. "This is the best coffee I've had since the last time I was in Australia. How did you do that?"

"Oh, it's not hard. I'll show you," and she instantly began to teach me. "First, you need coffee grounds. You need a generously heaping tablespoon per six-ounce cup you want to make. Not your monster mugs. A normal cup size. Course, not too fine. You want it chunky, or it'll get through the filter." She added a pinch of salt into the course dry coffee.

"Salt, really?"

"Just a little. Salt literally makes everything better."

After the kettle whistled, she began to explain things again, "so, you need to bloom the coffee, which just means get it wet to wake it up. Jesus, _that's what she said_," Bella said with a little giggle. I smiled to myself a little at her joke. "Anyway, once your minute is up," she showed me the timer on her phone, "add the rest of the water to the top and set another timer for three minutes."

"Would you say this is quicker than a machine?" I asked. It seemed like a lot of steps but not really that hard.

"Than a pod machine? No, but they're gross. A drip, maybe. It's a little more work, but it's worth it, I think. I'm not sure. I've not compared them recently."

When the time was up, she made me another cup of coffee without me having to ask her. I found it very touching for some reason. She was very considerate.

"So, that's it? That doesn't seem that complicated at all. And to think I've been trying to get used to the shitty coffee you people have here!" I took a sip. "No offense."

"Obviously I'm not one of those people," Bella said challengingly.

"Well, yeah. Obviously. God, this fan-fucking-tastic.," I agreed loudly before taking another gulp. "Thank you."

She flipped her pretty hair over her shoulder, smiling at me charmingly. "I told you coffee was my favorite drink."

I heard the car door slam a moment before there was a quick knock on the door. Seth and Tyler knew my keycode, and I allowed them to come and go freely. They were my friends, and I trusted them. Seth needed to learn to be more gentle with the fucking door, though. It slammed, making Bella jump.

"Hey, Boss!" Seth called to me rather loudly. He was dressed well, his clothes always perfectly crisp. He was a sneakerhead that kept his shoes pristine all times. It sometimes made me feel a little bad that I wasn't always as naturally well kept as him.

Tyler came behind him more quietly. He was more like me, trying but still wearing comfortable clothes.

"Hey. Sorry, I'm not ready yet. I got distracted." I stood quickly. "Seth. Tyler. This is Bella, the photographer I was telling you about. Bella, this Seth." They took turns, shaking her hand. Literally, all they knew was that there was a photographer coming to follow me around and I wasn't too pleased about it. "And, that's Tyler. It's okay if you confuse them for one another. They're obviously very hard to tell apart," I joked stupidly. She smiled at me. Seth and I exchanged a quick look over her head.

"I mean, we're practically twins," Tyler went along with it with a small smile.

Bella giggled lightly, "hi, lovely to meet you. Just let me know if I ever get in your way."

"Are you going to join us in the videos?" Tyler asked her, glancing over at me meaningfully. We hadn't discussed anything beforehand. "We have a lot of fun together when we make them."

Bella looked at me before shrugging. "I enjoyed doing them yesterday, but it's up to him, of course. He's the boss. I'm just here to take pictures and not get in the way."

"Absolutely not in the way! More the merrier," I smiled and said it a bit too loudly. Seth's eyes got big over her head from behind, looking at me in confusion. I quickly shook my head so that she wouldn't see. "Alright, let me go get dressed. I'll be right back."

And then I ran-walk like a bitch to my room. My friends both had so many thoughts they wanted to share with me, most of them probably jokes at my expense. They knew I was dreading this and I had forgotten to warn them that she was… Well, Bella.

I quickly got dressed, grabbing whatever I first found. A button down shirt with a vest and a pair of dark black jeans all were hung up together.

My friends and the pretty photographer were chatting about a rather grim subject on my way back down the hall.

"Oh yeah. It was a... _bridge._ It's impressive, I guess. I was kind of worried the entire time I'd see someone jump off. It actually gave me a lot of anxiety. I'm kind of morbid that way," she said as if commenting on my own thoughts.

"I'd be paranoid, too. People try to jump there all the damn time. I think they put nets up, and that helps, but you know how people are," Seth replied before saying, "thanks."

"It seems like such a terrible way to die, jumping off a bridge. You have time to regret what you have done and know that it's going to hurt when you hit the water. I can't imagine," she answered him darkly.

I decided to break the tension with a joke when I reappeared from the hall. "I'm gone for five minutes, and you're already talking about killing yourselves?"

Bella looked down at herself and then at me in total confusion, ignoring my stupid comment. "Do I need to wear nicer clothes?" She was wearing lovely tight blue jeans again and a blue flannel shirt that hugged her body. I liked it. She looked very comfortable.

"No, you're fine. He's just a fancy bitch," Seth joked meanly before flashing me a smile.

I faked laughed like the dramatic asshole that I was with my hands on my hips. "Ha. Ha. Har. Fuck you, sir. I am not a bitch," I said in my mother's London accent.

"No, he's a hipster," Tyler said, looking directly at me. They had both called me that many times before. They knew that I didn't like it. But, I wasn't going to let it get to me in front of the beautiful woman.

I clutched my pearls playfully. "Take that back!"

"If he could grow a mustache, he'd have one of those goofy handlebar ones," Seth laughed.

"No. No, I would not. My best mate Jasper has one, and it's _stupid_. Why are you teasing me in front of the pretty girl?" I spat out before I realized what was coming out of my mouth. I was used to being myself with them, and my mouth just decided to continue.

Bella was unbothered. She softly brushed her hand across my shoulder as she walked towards the bedrooms. "I'm not a girl. I'm a woman."

Both of my friends began to laugh, both at her words and my expression.

"Shut up," I whispered to them.

"Ha," Tyler breathed out, looking me over as if he was sizing me up.

Seth saw his chance and ran with it.

"Right! She's a woman, you chauvinist swine! She's a guest in your home, and you're STILL making her make the coffee for you? You know, he thought you were a dude," he yelled so she could hear it. My eyes got wide, and I shook my head.

"I didn't know! My manager kept saying 'he' and Swan Photography doesn't tell you a whole lot about _gender_, thank you! Not that it matters. And I didn't ask her to! I mean, kinda, but not like that!"

"It's surprising, especially coming from a man with four older sisters. You'd think they would have beaten it out of him," Tyler played along. They both knew my sisters. They both knew what they were like.

"My sisters never beat me. They loved me and babied me. And, played with me all the time like I was a damn dress up Barbie doll," I complained a little towards the end.

"And, that's why you are a fancy bitch now," Bella sassed me dryly, her smile just ever so slightly pleased with herself. Both of my friends fell over themselves at her mocking. She smiled at me prettily.

"So, no vest then? Is this what we're trying to say? As meanly as possible?" I asked her sarcastically. Bella nodded slowly, amused with my expression.

After I removed the stupid vest I was trying, she closed the distance between us and carefully undid one of the buttons of my shirt. My world sort of melted away. I swallowed heavily as she fixed my collar. Bella smiled up at me, sweetly again.

"That's better."

"Thanks," I could barely talk, but my lips copied her smile. I saw my friends smirking behind her back at me. I cleared my throat loudly. "Alright, let's get this show on the road."

It was always a good day when a video involved doughnuts.

It was made even better by the fact that Bella was there as well. When I asked her if she would like to film, she instantly smiled and asked me where I wanted her.

My douche brain ran wild with that the entire time she innocently ate pastries with me. I hoped to **God** no one caught on. Bella was charming the whole time.

"So," Tyler said quietly while Seth set up some camera equipment and Bella was walking around taking pictures at the Korean place Seth had requested. It was one of his favorites, but it was crazy expensive. It sounded like a great idea to me. I just liked to eat.

"_So_, what?"

"Bella isn't a man," he stated the obvious. "She's, in fact, a very beautiful woman."

"I've noticed," I breathed out.

He chuckled, smirking over at me. "Oh, we've noticed that you've noticed."

"Am I that obvious?" I asked him quietly.

"No, but you're that stupid," he muttered before smiling widely at me. "You gave that up easy."

"I could fire you," I warned. He snorted, rolling his eyes. We both knew how much shit I was full of. "Please don't tease me in front of her."

"We'll take it under consideration," he said cryptically. "I like her," he said more seriously. "She seems very friendly."

"Mm," I hummed in agreement. "No, but seriously. I could fire you. Knock that shit off."

"Fine." He rolled his eyes again.

The Korean family meal for eight was worth the price. It was also worth it to see Seth so happy with his leftovers. It was nice to make videos for my friends.

"We're not supposed to be to the tattoo shop for an hour, and I need to walk all this off. I think there is a nice park on the way. Let's stop there. It'll be a good place for Bella to take pictures," I offered from the backseat "It's going to be sunset soon, though."

I ate too much, and I was miserable. I shouldn't have done it right before getting my tattoo. It wasn't brilliant planning on my part.

"That would be good," she agreed readily. "Dusk is the best time to take pictures."

The two men met me at the boot of the car to get their camera equipment while Bella was far enough away taking pictures to not hear us.

"Go take background shots in the opposite direction of us," I mumbled to them.

Seth snorted. I gave him a sharp look. "So, I shouldn't ask for her number?" He teased me. I almost growled at him.

Tyler started to laugh, "don't taunt him. It's not nice. Plus, it's too easy. Come on. Let's do what the boss asks while he tries to get in the young, pretty photographer's panties."

"First, no. I'm not, asshole. Second, she's older than me."

"Nice," Seth grinned. "Well, if you're not interested, let me know."

"Fuck off," I breathed out before hurrying to catch up to Bella. "Walk with me?" I asked her politely.

"Sure," she smiled, watching my two idiot friends head away from us to take videos and pictures of the sunset for stock footage. I was always collecting more. You never knew when it would come in handy.

We walked along the path. I felt so nervous and unsure suddenly. Everything had been going really well all day.

"So, how is it going?" I asked as I looked back at her. She smiled slightly as she took my photograph.

"Good," she replied over the black device, taking another picture. "Sick of me yet?"

I wasn't even sure that was possible. I wanted to spend every possible second with her.

"Not at all. I like working with you. You're a natural." The words just slipped out.

"You think?" Bella asked me shyly.

"Yes. You're very well spoken." I leaned against a statue, just wanting to take a break for a moment. I wanted to look at her and study her expression as we talked.

"I took speech and drama in school. I'm pretty good at turning on that Texas beauty queen voice when I need to," she said almost teasingly. I liked her accent so much already.

"Texas beauty queen?" I asked, just wondering if she would do it for me. She happily obliged.

Bella's face instantly became innocent and teasingly sweet, her eyes wide as she grinned at me fakely. "Hi, there! My name is Bella Marie, and I'm from Harris County, Texas! My hobbies include music, dancing, and cooking! My talents include playing the fiddle AND the banjo! Yeehaw, y'all," she began with the thickest accent until the very end. As dryly as possible she said '_yeehaw, y'all.' _

I cackled at the unexpectedness of it. She was so funny.

"Oh, my god. Yes, you're right. You are good at that."

"Are you laughing at my real accent?" Then she looked annoyed. I was shocked by the suddenness of her mood change until she began to giggle at me. "It is, though. My real accent. It's okay, it's funny as fuck."

Sometimes I hated how much of a naive and gullible boob I was. She was purposefully teasing me. I decided to be honest with her. "It's cute. I like it."

"Well, I'm glad someone does. It's terrible. Anyway, what are we doing at the tattoo shop, exactly?" She said quickly.

I wanted to correct her, but she obviously wanted to move on. I pushed off the statue so we could continue down the stone path.

"I'm getting my first tattoo."

"And, you're filming the experience?"

"Of course. Then I can write it off as a tax expense," I somewhat teased. It was, of course, a work expense since I was filming it. It would be well worth the upfront costs.

"What are you getting?"

"Cullen family crest on my chest. The artist designed it for me already. I'm really excited. It's pretty sweet."

I had wanted a tattoo for years. Jasper was covered in them. I went with him often and bought a few of them for him as gifts for birthdays and holidays. My mother hated them. She looked down at people with them as trashy. This felt like my final act of rebellion, cutting the last tie. I was permanently marking myself as _other._

I would forever be one of the rubbish people Mum despised. I was very much looking forward to it. And even better, I was going to broadcast it to the world. I was extremely excited.

"And this is your very first? Any piercings or anything?" She questioned.

"Nope. None."

"Oh, boy," she giggled nervously. "Good luck with that. I hope it's small."

"Hurting myself always gets more views. It's fine," I replied honestly. "I don't think I want any piercings, though. I don't think I could care for them properly. I'd probably lose an ear."

"I have a bunch," Bella said before lifting up her very thick curly black hair away from her neck and shoulder. In each ear was a few silver earrings. They were very fetching on her. I leaned in for a better look, mindlessly brushing some hair back to do so. I didn't even realize I was doing it until I brought my hand away.

"Do they hurt?"

Bella was still as she could be as she let me look at her so close that I could smell the coconut of her shampoo or body wash again. I could still smell the faint hint of sugar from the doughnut shop, too.

"Of course when you get them. They don't hurt afterward unless you don't take care of them."

"They look nice on you," I whispered. She blushed a little, quickly combing her hair back over her shoulder as she looked away from me.

"Thanks."

It was a gorgeous night, the temperature just right as it got darker. The playground was empty. Bella put her camera away, moving quietly to the swings. I sat beside her. I decided to try to make small talk with her.

"So, you were interested in drama? You took it in school, yeah?"

Bella seemed a little embarrassed. She gave me a small shrug. "Yeah, in high school and some in college. Just a little. I don't think I was that good. I never had a lead role in anything. Just supporting roles. Chorus line, usually."

It was my turn to shrug. "Well, maybe that's because you're just supposed to be yourself in front of the camera."

The pretty photographer leaned her head against the chain of the swing as she looked at me with her piercing mismatched eyes. "Are you yourself in front of the camera?"

"No," my mouth answered for me. It decided to be honest with her. "I am a character of myself."

"You are more self-aware than I'd imagine you would be from your videos. I mean that as a compliment even if it doesn't sound like it. I'd imagine most celebrities aren't self-aware."

Celebrity. _Ha. _Of course, she saw me like that.

"Do you really think I'm a celebrity?"

"Why else would I be here?" She asked lightly.

"Good point." I kicked at the rocks gently. "I'm still kinda feeling new to this."

I suddenly felt like I was all alone, and I was always going to be alone. I was a celebrity, and no one was actually going to see me for who I was ever again. No matter if I wanted to be myself with this woman, I never would be able to.

"Don't worry. Me too." She smiled at me sweetly. It was so genuine and kind. I didn't know what to say.

"Hey, boss! We need to head out!" Tyler shouted at us, breaking up the awkward silence between us. Both of us were obviously grateful for it.

The tattoo shop wasn't impressive, but the artist was.

"Tyler doesn't have any tattoos, but I know Seth has a couple. Do you have any, Bella?" I asked her. She was standing beside Tyler. Her eyes got wide, a little shocked I was talking to her.

"I have a ton," she answered as she came around to stand beside me in the shot.

"How many do you have?"

"Oh, um, a few dozen? At least. I'm not sure. Some are really small," she replied casually.

My brain struggled to think if I had seen any tattoos on her. I hadn't, though. She hadn't worn much in the way of revealing clothing, either. There weren't any obvious ones on her arms, neck, or chest. I hadn't seen enough of her legs to see any. When she had worn her dress, she had also worn knee socks.

"Can I see any of them?" I decided to go for it.

"Um, sure," Bella said before she began to take off her shoes and socks, tugging the denim of her blue jeans up to reveal a whole series of lovely little tattoos. Then she took off her flannel shirt and pulled up her tank top to show off the art on her stomach and back. She was decorated with beautiful pieces that included lots of color and flowers. "I've got more, but I'd have to take my clothes off to show you."

"Holy shit! I had no idea!" I said in surprise before I could stop myself. I also had to stop myself from reaching out and touching her silky looking skin as I had done with her hair. Each piece fit her perfectly.

I had a million questions that I wanted to ask her. I wanted to know every single story she had about her art.

"I try to look professional," Bella answered.

"I love them, though!"

The tattoo artist wasn't shy in the least and reached out to examine something on her ribs, just below her heavy breasts. It was bright orange and red and made up of swirls, flowers, and little birds.

"This is some quality ink," he complimented her.

"Thanks. I've spent thousands over the years. I'd love something new, but I've been broke the past couple of years now," she said softly. The artist moved his fingers over to another tattoo, this one directly under her left breast. It was a rainbow heart made to look as if it was made from thread with a needle shoved into it. It was very detailed.

Then I got an idea.

"Yo, do you think you could give her a tattoo after me as well. For the video."

"If you pay for it, I can do whatever you want. I'd normally be closed right now, so I don't have any appointments coming in," he answered with a shrug.

"Are you serious?" Bella asked me in excited surprise.

"Yeah, if you want one. Do you know what you'd like to get?"

She was thrilled. It gave me an immediate boost of confidence.

"I know exactly what I want to get." She quickly pulled out her phone and showed it to the tattoo artist. He eyed it curiously. I couldn't see it. "It'd like it as jewel-toned as possible with blues, greens, and purples like this. Is that possible?"

"Yeah, Mama. I got you. Where you want it?" He smiled at her, looking her over.

"Collarbone, just below. About three inches across." Bella pulled her tank top to one side to show him. He nodded thoughtfully.

"Let me work on his piece, and I'll hook you up after."

I wasn't sure if I was nervous about the pain that I was about to go through or being shirtless in front of Bella. Especially as she quickly took pictures of me.

Then I realized I needed to be worried about the pain.

"Motherfucker!"

"Doing okay, boss?" Seth said mockingly.

"It feels like I'm being stabbed a million times in a row in the chest by a very tiny needle," I said through gritted teeth.

"Explaining things to you very accurately in an Australian accent, brought to you by Eddie Cullen," Bella said funnily to Tyler, making him laugh. She really was too good at being in front of the camera.

"Come for the quality content, stay for the sexy accent," I tried to joke, but it was hard while hurting that much. I knew for sure already this was going in the video.

"That's probably going to be the worst part," Bella said to me reassuringly, standing very close to me. "The rest is going to be quick little swipes with a smaller needle."

"She's right. Breathe, man. You're holding your breath," I heard the guy say. I was starting to feel a touch dizzy.

"Eddie," Bella said sweetly. I looked at her and realized that I was gripping the arm of the chair way too tightly. "In through your nose, hold it, and count to four, let it out through your mouth slowly. Repeat."

I was terrible with pain. I was a wimp. A total bitch. I wanted to cry. Tears pricked at my eyes despite trying to hold them in. I cursed and complained the entire way.

"Holy mother of shit fuckers, you ball-less twat monkey!"

"A ball-less twat monkey?" Seth laughed. I said dumber shit all the time. "Where in your brain comes up with these?"

"The same place that comes up with terrible video ideas that hurt me," I whined. "Why do you have so many tattoos? How?" I asked before I could stop myself.

"I like pain," she said rather seductively. I moaned in a complaint, unable to look at her.

"Fucking _obviously_."

Bella giggled, "it's not that bad, you big baby. You're just a big ham."

"It _hurts._"

"Try having it done on your feet. Or, ribs," she countered. "You'll be fine. Just stopping tensing up and breathe. Pain is in the mind."

As much as it hurt, it was beautiful, and I instantly knew I would get more.

It only took a few minutes for the artist to reset and make her design. We snacked on leftover doughnuts while we waited.

Bella took off her purple flannel again when the artist asked her where she wanted her bejeweled butterfly. She struggled with her tank top sleeve for just a moment before pulling off her shirt smoothly. In one graceful movement, she pulled off one strap of her bra and tucked it in.

Seth almost dropped his camera. I saw it begin to slip from his fingers as his mouth went slack for a moment. He quickly caught himself and adjusted. I heard Tyler snicker, watching us both with his own camera. _Oh, my god,_ he mouthed to me. My eyes got big in answer.

"What?" Bella asked innocently as she picked up both of her shirts and put them under her head so that she was more comfortable.

I decided to play it off. "What? Oh? Um, nothing. You've got a lot of tattoos. Do they all have stories?"

It took all my willpower not to look at her amazing breasts or smooth stomach. She was obviously very fit and worked out often.

"Some do. They represent events and people. But, not all of them. Sometimes a girl just likes cute ass little dragons when she's eighteen," she giggled.

Once again, I found myself charmed by her.

After watching her for a few minutes, I realized something. She looked like she was about to take a nice long nap. "Maybe I am a bitch."

Bella had her eyes closed, a small smile on her face as her arm laid over them. She honestly looked very relaxed. I wondered if she actually did enjoy pain. She kind of smirked to herself before yawning.

"But you're a fancy one," she teased. Bella lifted her arm up just a little to look at me, her smile innocent and cloying. There was so little distance between us, the sugar scent still strong despite the cleaning product odor of the tattoo shop. I wondered if she tasted as good as she smelled. Then she bit her lip playfully before lowering her arm back down into place.

I truly wanted to kiss her, even if she did just deservedly call me a bitch.

**They got tattoos together! **

**Seth and Tyler are funny in this chapter to me, lol. I enjoy writing them. **

**Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Episode Five-**

I had several messages waiting for me on the phone when we got back to the house after the tattoo parlor. Bella quickly excused herself off to bed. Though I was tired, I wasn't ready to sleep. So, of course, I sat by the pool with a smoke. I decided to answer my sister's text first.

It read, "_how's the ink?"_

"_Nice. I like it." _I lit my joint, taking a long drag as I waited for her undoubtedly quick reply.

"_Are you around?"_ She asked me instantly. "_Can you talk?"_

"_Sure,"_ I answered back. Within a second, my phone rang. "Hey, Sasha."

"Hey, baby brother. So, did it hurt?" She asked quickly, her voice clearly amused.

"Yes," I said with a laugh.

"Think you'll get more?"

"Oh, for sure," I laughed again. "I love the results."

"That picture was nice. It's very cool. Mum is going to be fuming," she giggled.

"Well, Mum can go fuck herself with a cactus," I mumbled.

Part of the reason I decided to get a tattoo in the first place was her trash talking Jasper over all of his. In front of him, I might add. Not that he could hear her. It was at the party for the birth of my youngest niece. But if he had, it wouldn't have been the first time she insulted him to his face. My mother was never shy about her opinions. She openly hated Jasper.

"Ow," she breathed. "That's _harsh_."

"So, befitting?"

"Very." I could almost see her smirk that matched mine. Sasha, Tanya, and I looked the most alike. Carmen and Irina looked like, taking more after our mother. "So, how are you otherwise, Tony?"

It was weird being called Tony after so many months of going by Eddie or Edward all the time. My family and friends in Australia had all always called me by middle name. When I moved to America, I decided to make the change from Tony to Eddie complete. I thought it was just part of the actor's mask, but I knew it was starting to change me as a person. I didn't want to be Tony anymore. Eddie was happier and liked himself more. Edward was a smart businessman and was making money hand over fist. Tony was the anxious little fat boy who hid in his room eating Tim Tams and playing World of Warcraft for ten hours a day.

"Good," I answered distractedly.

"What do you have going on?" She questioned me since I wasn't giving her much to work with.

"Well, actually, do you know that pretty picture I sent to you and for mom's birthday-" I began. She quickly interrupted me.

"Oh, yes! I love it! It's so lovely, Tony! Thank you. Mum liked hers too, surprisingly."

"Well, that's good. The photographer that took them is following me around this week, actually. She's even staying in my house, oddly enough. It's for a magazine," I explained.

"Well, tell her she's very talented. I love it very much and look forward to purchasing more."

"Mm, I will," I hummed. I wasn't sure if I would say anything or not.

"What's her name?" Sasha pressed further curiously. I could hear Peppa Pig in the background. I wondered who and how many of my nieces were watching the cartoon. My sister was very bored as a housewife.

"Bella."

"Ooo. Sound's Italian."

I laughed, "she's not. I think she's _maybe _part Latino. She's from Texas, but she lives in New York City," I explained to her. "She's not sure, actually. We've talked about it a little."

"Oh, I see," she said knowingly. Sasha paused for a moment. "So, is her name _fitting_?"

My nosy sister was asking if she was pretty. I chuckled and sighed.

"_Very_," I said quietly.

Sasha giggled, "oh, you sound dreamy. She must be something. What does she look like?"

"I'll send you a picture later," I said. She knew me perhaps better than anyone else in my family. Actually, all of my sisters knew me well and probably exchanged information. That was fine. I already knew they were a team that stuck together. They worked better that way. "She is something though," I agreed with her. "She's exciting to be around, honestly. She got a tattoo with me tonight. Just decided on the spot."

"Oh, wow!"

"As someone who plans the fuck out of everything, I was very impressed," I chuckled again, teasing myself mostly. "I don't think tattoos are a big deal to her, though. She has a bunch. She's obviously spent a mint on them, too. All of them are so bright, like her pictures. Everything about her is so vivid. Honestly, I've never met a person where the word 'vivacious' would fit, but it's exactly what Bella is. Amazing and _vivacious_."

"Tony!" My sister said in her gushing tone. "Are you dating?"

"What? No," I laughed automatically in embarrassment. "I just met her two days ago."

"But, you're going to date."

"No."

"Yes, you are," she said quickly.

I laughed at her words. Sasha thought she knew everything. "Okay, well, as much as I'd like that to be true, I don't think that's how that's going to work. She lives in New York City. We're both busy. She's leaving next Monday."

"Oh, _brother_. You called her vivacious. You're going to date her. You're already in love with her," she sounded like she was in school again. I just laughed harder. "What?"

"How do you do that? Hm?"

"Know that you're in love? Maybe because I know you so well?" She questioned. I actually meant sound so confident when she was so full of shit, but I would let her have it. "I helped raise you, my darling baby brother. So, you're in love with her?"

"No," I snorted, shaking my head. _Maybe._ I lit the joint again, taking another hit. I would not be telling her a single thing about my confused feelings.

"What does Jasper think?" Of course, she knew that I had spoken to my best friend obsessively about it.

I couldn't help but smirk to myself, taking another drag. "He thinks it's exciting drama."

"It is! Keep me updated. Can I ask him questions?"

"He's your friend, too. It's not like I've sworn him to secrecy." I didn't care what my sisters knew, most of the time. I knew if they wanted to know one of them would push until they found out anyway. They seemed to know me better than I knew myself, sometimes. Jasper would cheerfully and in a funny way probably tell her to fuck off though.

"I love how accepting you are of our bullshit," she told me in a laugh.

"I expect it. I accept it. I'm used to it. I know it's done with love," I replied honestly. "So, how are the girls? I miss them. Tell me everything. Did they like the presents I sent them? And how did Ruby's swim thing go?"

We talked for another hour before I let her go. I missed her terribly but enjoyed the phone conversations we were having. It was like when she went off to college when I was younger, and we spoke almost every other night. Her leaving was perhaps the hardest for me. When Irina finally went, I was excited to be by myself. Tanya lived at home during university, and Carmen left when I was very little. She was fifteen when I was born, though.

Being the youngest by six years meant I also had the longest amount of alone time with my parents. It was a curse and a blessing. Being alone and lonely also started me making videos, though. I would still much rather have been a happy teen than a YouTube celebrity.

When I got off the phone with Sasha, I had several text messages from Jasper. I had already sent him the footage from the day before I called my sister and he was probably skimming through it.

"_The way she sucks that sugar off her fingers should be illegal._

_She's so funny. _

_Wtf, how much can she eat? Where does it go? Just to her ass and tits?_

_I think Seth and Tyler like her, too. _

_I bet she likes a little pain,_ _**winky face, winky face, winky face. **_

_He almost dropped the camera lol Holy shit. Me too, gov. I can't believe she took off her shirts like it was nothing. Omg, all of your faces hahaha. On camera, too! I don't think she's shy at all. _

_Her tattoos tho. Mmmmmmm… My kind of lady. _

_Duddddeee… You seriously look like you're about to eat her lol Like you're a half-second from just onnomnomnoming her face off. And all of you are openly staring at her tits. All fucking three of you. I've watched several good pornos that started that way. 10/10 would watch this one." _

I laughed at all of them, shaking my head. I decided to just call him. It was easier that way.

"I might actually be in love with this woman," I joked when he answered. "Between her accent, her tattoos, her curly hair, and sassy ass little attitude…" I trailed off.

Jasper laughed in return. "Sassy is one word for it. She's quite the feisty one. I do love her tattoos."

"Me too."

"Lots of rainbows. Wonder if she's gay," he said offhandedly.

The thought hadn't occurred to me. "Oh? I don't know. She was married to a man."

"She could be bisexual. Or pan. Or a whole host of things. Sexuality is a fluid spectrum," he said casually. Sex and sexuality had never been a subject he shied away from. He was purposefully a pervert for the fun of it.

"I suppose," I commented.

"I think she likes you either way," he replied. "She's flirting with you pretty hard."

"Do you think?"

"Yes," he laughed again. He thought I was being stupid and I could tell by his tone. "I haven't watched everything, but I'd say she's at the very least interested."

"I actually really like her," I admitted quietly. "As a person. I'm starting to get worried."

"About what exactly?"

"What if the girl of my dreams lives a thousand miles away and isn't interested in me?"

Jasper sighed, "well, she does live far away, but like I said…" he trailed off. "You know it's all up to you. You're the man. Take charge. Be bold and take chances. You can do that in your career. Apply your skills here."

I laughed bitterly. "That has never once worked."

"You learn more from failure," he tried to encourage.

"I don't think I could take this failure," I conceded. "It doesn't matter. Anyway, we've talked about this shit too much. Tell me about your day. Is your boss still being a prick?"

"Yes, of fucking course he's still a goddamn prick," he began to rant angrily.

I stayed up way too late and went to sleep later than I meant to. I forgot to set my alarm. When I woke up at ten thirty, I threw myself out of bed and into the shower.

Bella was waiting for me in the living room, dressed in a pretty blue silk blouse and once again blue jeans. She looked lovely.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry. I should have been up sooner. We'll stop for something to eat on the way," I apologized as I shoved my stuff in my pockets for the day. I was embarrassed about not being ready to go sooner. I hated being in a rush. I wanted to be early for everything. "I couldn't sleep." It wasn't entirely a lie. I spent too much time talking to Jasper instead of going to bed.

"That sucks. I woke up at five," Bella commented as she watched me patiently. I quickly looked up at her in shock.

"_Jesus,_ I'm sorry."

She gave me a small sweet smile, looking down at her feet bashfully. "Oh, it's fine. My body is still used to home. Time zone and everything. I got pictures of the sunrise, though. It was gorgeous."

"Oh, well, that's good then. I can't wait to see them." I smiled at her. I wondered if I would actually get to see all the pictures she was taking. She had taken literally thousands the day before. Of what exactly, I had no idea.

I felt flustered and hated so much that we were in a rush because of me. Bella seemed quietly unbothered. Despite that, my anxiety ate at me as we stopped for food.

"I must seem a little bit of a mess," I mumbled as I took a bite of my breakfast sandwich. Looking forward to the studio, I knew I was in for a long day. This was a big project, and I wanted all of it to go right. I wasn't exactly in the right headspace, though.

"Why would I think that?" She asked me curiously, her head cocked to the side slightly. Bella offered me some of her fruit. Carefully, I took a green piece of melon. It was delicious, especially with my ham and cheese sandwich with egg. It made me wish I had ordered some to go with mine as well, but I didn't really have time for that. I wanted to eat away all my stress.

"I sleep till almost noon every day. I'm not that organized. I'm kind of winging it."

Bella slowly shook her head. "I don't care when you sleep. You work hard, so you do you. And, you're here early, so I don't see how this is disorganized. I don't judge you for it. You're doing better than me. That's for sure."

"I don't like rushing," I admitted to her. Bella shrugged in response.

"No one does. And everyone is winging it. Just so you know."

"I suppose that's true," I said in a nervous sigh before gulping down my Earl Grey tea quickly. I didn't want to waste it, and the hot liquid was good for my throat.

She stopped and considered me hard for a long minute. "You really are anxious, aren't you?" Bella stopped before softening her voice, "that sounds insulting. I don't mean it to be. I mean, I'm anxious, too. I understand how you feel. Don't worry. Don't listen to the little voices, you're doing just fine. I'm not judging you."

Bella was so kind, gentle, and sincere. She meant every word she said. I had heard the words before at my doctor's office actually.

"You've been in therapy," I said offhandedly as I looked over at her.

"Oh, for years and years. Can't you tell?" She smiled before scrunching up her nose. "It sucks, but I get it."

I wished she didn't get it. I wished no one ever felt the anxiety that I did. I wished I could take all her stress from her. Closing my eyes for just a second, I took in a deep breath through my nose and out my mouth before sighing heavily.

"I need to get in there."

"You got this. I'm excited to see you do your work. I have no idea how any of this is done so you'll have to teach me everything," she said with a big smile. Bella was so warm and reassuring. It instantly made me feel more excited. I wanted to perform flawlessly for her.

As I opened her car door for her, I slipped on my actor's mask. It was time to be Eddie again.

"It's easy. I stand in a black closet and make crazy noises for several hours straight."

"Sounds exciting," she said with a sly little smile, her voice purposefully dry.

"Very," I said as I looked back at her, opening the door as I made my eyes wide. I loved her answering smirk and swaying hips as she followed behind.

"Mr. Cullen!" One of the many assistants working on the series called to me excitedly as soon as I came into the building. I was, shockingly, right on time. "If you and Ms. Swan could just follow me right this way. We've got your booth all ready to go."

"Perfect. Thank you!"

"Do you need anything?" She asked, pleasantly.

"No. Thank you," I said as charmingly as possible. "I'll see you in a couple of hours," I said to Bella. She smiled at me and pressed a hand on my forearm.

"You're going to be amazing," she told me. "I'm so glad I get to watch you do this."

"I'm…" _Speechless_. I took in a deep breath. "Thank you. I'm glad you're here, too. I hope you have fun. I'll try my best for you," I said teasingly even if I meant it.

"I have no doubt," she grinned before following the assistant into the recording booth with all the controls. I could see her through the glass. Bella gave me a little smile as she stood in the corner. It was apparent she was trying to make herself as small and out of the way as possible.

I acted my ass off. Stretching my voice, I tried to be as perfect as possible. And it showed. It showed on Bella's face, especially. I could see her smiling behind her camera, laughing at my stupidity. I saw it in the reaction of the voice director, Claudette. She was a lovely thin African American woman with astounding cotton white hair.

"You're on it today!" She praised when we took a little break. "I'm loving everything you're doing."

"I know, right?" I smirked at her. I needed Bella to watch me every time I voice acted.

"So, let's talk about this new Disney thing. I think for your character…" She went on, chatting with me while Bella took our pictures. I tried my best not to smile too much and act natural. Normally, I didn't like my photo to be taken very much. I wanted her to take mine, though.

The result of giving one thousand percent though was being exhausted at the end of the day. And hungry. My bagel sandwich was not enough by any means. Bella easily agreed to pizza. I stopped at the first random shop I saw. I had never eaten there before, but I was all about trying new places, even outside of work.

"Can I have half lemonade, half tea?" Bella asked the waitress politely after I ordered a tall draft beer and chicken wings. I needed something cold for my throat. It probably wasn't the best idea, but I didn't care. "And can I also have a side salad with extra tomatoes and no onions with mine?"

"Sure," the waitress said, writing it down quickly as she continued to eye me. I knew that look. She was trying to figure out where she knew me from. I hoped she didn't ask or figure it out.

Bella leaned her chin on her palm with a little frown on her pretty lips as she poked at her grape tomato in her salad. I watched her over my wings, wondering what she was thinking about. She seemed almost depressed.

"How is it?"

Her lips pushed to one side before she scrunched up her nose. "It's fine."

She was not enjoying either the food or the company. I hoped it wasn't me.

"You don't seem very enthusiastic about it," I offered hopefully.

"Oh," Bella's face reddened slightly as she sat up straight in her chair. She shrugged her delicate shoulders. "I don't know. I miss real food. It's fine."

"This isn't real food?"

Leaning her head to a slight angle, she considered her words carefully. "I miss my own cooking, I mean. I'm spoiled to my own food. I don't usually eat out this much in a row anymore. I do the cooking for me and my roommate."

"What do you like to cook?" I was just relieved it wasn't me. I had almost forgotten she said she cooked during college at an Italian place. I could see her being a good one and wondered if she would ever be willing to do so for me.

"I try to do healthy stuff, but Alice and I are working on being fatties. So, lots of carbs and cheese," she explained with a little eye roll at herself.

"So, like pizza," I said with a little laugh.

"We do pizza a lot. I do a lot of Tex-Mex. Being Texans it's one of our great loves, but you can't get it good anywhere outside of Texas really."

LA had its lovely share of Mexican food. Some of it claimed to be Tex-Mex. I didn't know the difference honestly. It all just tasted good to me.

"What makes it Tex-Mex?"

Bella giggled, "you see, you stuff it with cheese. Then you deep fry it and then you cover it in a cheese sauce. Then put more shredded cheese on top. Then add salsa and all you can eat chips."

My mouth actually watered, and my sad excuse of wings was now just disappointing. But, at least the company was charming.

"Oh, my hips just got wider thinking about it," I joked a bit too high pitched, my accent slipping somewhere weird. I had worked too long. "Oi, I became me Gran there for a sec." She giggled again, smiling at me. I returned it. "I eat terribly, too," I admitted.

"I've noticed," Bella said with a little smirk, looking between the bland barbeque chicken and me.

"It is _literally_ the only reason I work out," I said in a joking tone. It was dangerously true. I was a chubby child because I so loved to eat. It was how I coped with every negative emotion I had. It wasn't until secondary school, and Jasper and I both started running that I realized the joys of being able to eat more food because you exercise.

"You could afford to pay someone to do that, you know. Cook, I mean."

"For just me? Seems a waste." I shook my head. I hated having a maid come in, but I hated cleaning more. And that was what delivery services were for. I wasn't going to tell her that though. It was the same reason I didn't want a personal assistant, even if I could use one.

"Well, you're worth a lot now. Your health is your greatest asset. The healthier you are, the more you can work. And you may look great, but looks can be deceiving. It's what's inside that counts."

As soon as the words left her lips, I knew she wasn't talking about me. Bella was talking about her husband. She said he was healthy in the video and she still seemed bitter. I wanted to ask her a million questions about it but also didn't want to pry. How hard must it have been for her? She was perhaps twenty-eight or twenty-nine when she became a widow. It seemed tragically young. Bella was right, though. My health was an asset I needed to protect. I knew what I was.

The waiter laid the pizza down between us.

"You're right. I guess I have to see myself as a product now."

Bella frowned at my answer. "That's rather unnerving. But we're all products in some way. We're always trying to sell ourselves to someone for something. Ugh, depressing." She took a bite of her pizza, making a little face. On the table was the spicy honey that had become so popular of late. She drizzled a bunch on it. She seemed to enjoy it more, taking another bite. "But, it is always important to care about your health. It's selfish not to."

"Selfish, how?"

"People love you. Your family. Friends. They deserve the best you so you can do the best for them. You don't have to be a vegan who works out four hours a day. But you can at least try to eat whole, freshly cooked food, and stuff... not salt soaked cardboard. At least every once in a while."

Bella wasn't thinking of me in terms of a product. She was thinking of me as someone who was cherished and who would be missed. The pretty photographer could have been an excellent life coach.

I gulped down my beer and ordered a water to drink as the waiter passed.

"You're not wrong. It gives me something to at least consider. I am going to be so busy soon, too. How do you even hire someone to do that, you know?" I admitted to her in a sad little sigh.

"Google is amazing," she replied sarcastically.

I nodded my head in embarrassment, rubbing my fingers over the back of my neck as it heated. I must have seemed so naive to her. So young. "Oh. Duh. Right. True story. There is probably a website."

"Probably a few."

"This adulting thing is goddamn tedious. I'm good at getting my bills paid, but I lack all the other skills I need, I think," I tried to joke.

Bella then added a fucking ton of red pepper flakes to her slice of pepperoni pizza. On top of the spicy honey. _So, she likes things on the hotter side..._

She leaned in little before she spoke, "that's more than some can accomplish. I'll tell you a secret, though... It's always going to be _something._ You can't do everything for yourself all the time. It's okay to delegate and to ask for help."

I wasn't sure what to say to her insightful words. She wasn't chiding me. It felt like this woman whom I had only known for three days actually cared about me. She wanted me to be healthy so that I could be happy. So I could be there for those whom I loved and loved me. It felt as if she was looking at me like no one had in a very long time. Perhaps ever.

I realized I hadn't said anything in a very long time and needed to speak.

"I forget that sometimes," my mouth answered for me.

Bella nodded her head, glancing over at me before giving me a reassuring smile. "Everyone does."

Once we arrived back to the house, Bella again quickly excused herself off to bed. I couldn't imagine how tired she was if she woke up at five in the morning. I was tired, too.

For the first time in a long time, I didn't feel the need to smoke before I went to bed. I was already exhausted. When I slipped under the covers, I decided to send Jasper a message before I fell asleep. I hadn't spoken to him all day.

"_I realize that I said it jokingly before, but I might actually be in love with this woman_."

**This goes with episode 6 of Imperfect Pictures. **

**Thanks for reading! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Episode Six- **

I slept well for the first time in ages. I had a message from Jasper when I awoke.

"_Once again, I say good sir, you are a dramatic bitch._" I just laughed and shook my head. He wasn't wrong.

I didn't have much in the way of work for the day, but I already had a plan. Hopefully, one that Bella would agree to.

First, I got in a good workout before I decided to head into the living room. Bella was nowhere in sight, so I went to get myself a drink of milk. Lazy, I didn't see the need for a glass. As soon as I started gulping it down, my eyes locked on hers. Bella was sitting outside in the sunshine, working on her computer. Her expression was clearly amused by me.

"Good morning," I told her happily, starting off strong with my mask in place just in case she rejected the idea. Eddie could handle it. Tony could not, and he had come out to play enough the evening before.

"Afternoon," she smirked.

"Meh, close enough." I had no idea of the time, actually. "So, you said you were sick of eating out and wanted to cook real food, yeah?"

"Yeah." Bella cocked her head to the side slightly in confusion.

"Let me shower, and we can run to a proper market. I'll buy the groceries if you cook," I suggested casually. Her face was instantly worried.

"Do you have time for that?"

"Yeah. I'm going to do a little recording and editing today, but it's all at home. I _need_ a home-cooked meal. I haven't had one in ages. Like real proper food not from a box." I thought about her words from the day before. She had been right. I was also curious about what she would make.

"What do you want?" She asked as if she could see into my mind. I just shrugged.

"You're the chef. You can pick the menu. Carbs and cheese, right? I trust your tastes. Surprise me."

"I guess we'll go to the store and we'll see what looks good." She delicately shrugged her shoulders before closing her laptop. Bella smiled sweetly.

Showering quickly, I was frankly shocked she had agreed so easily to it. I was literally asking her to cook for me. She was so easy going. She needed to teach me how. I needed to be so zen.

"_I might be dramatic, but it doesn't mean it's untrue_," I sent back to Jasper.

Bella declined coffee at the store. I was starving, though, so I suffered through their crappy cafe food. As we walked around together, I found myself shy and unsure again. She was so intent in her shopping, occasionally looking over at me in curiosity. I knew I was being too quiet, but I couldn't seem to help it.

She asked me questions about food, my favorite subject, and I would give her one-word answers. It was shameful. Bella kept frowning. I kept throwing things into the cart nervously, thinking about how I was going to eat it in the middle of the night. All of it was salt and sugar.

"What about dessert?" She asked me finally. "Why don't you pick out something for dessert for us?"

"Oh, yeah. Sure," I cheerfully agreed. We were already in the freezer section. "Ice cream?"

"Perfect." She gave me a quick smile, walking beside me as she pushed the cart. "Just ice cream or the whole nine yards?"

"Obviously, I want everything," I told her with a cheesy grin, trying again to find my mask. "What flavor would you like?"

"Oh, I'm easy. I'm good with anything," she said pleasantly. "I don't think there is bad ice cream."

"I bet there is," I joked. "Why don't I pick out a few good pints?"

Then I picked a whole assortment. Vanilla based, chocolate based, fruit, with nuts, with caramel, and cookies and cream. One of those was bound to be a flavor she liked. If anything else, I liked them all. Afterward, we got whipped cream, cherries, and a couple of kinds of syrup.

When we got back to the house, she helped me bring in the groceries and put them away.

"So… Uh," I drew out. "I have some videos I need to do. A fan from Japan sent me a bunch of snacks and sodas. Would you care to join me in them? You were so lovely in the last."

"Oh," she sort of giggled and smiled, a slight blush on her cheeks. "That sounds like so much fun. I'd love to, Edward."

I really liked when Bella called me Edward. I so wanted to be her Edward.

While I worked around my office, she took pictures of me. I was struggling to concentrate on taking photos of the candy bars. They were shiny, and I couldn't make them out in the photos. It was starting to piss me off.

"Can I do something?" She asked gently.

"Sure."

Bella came to stand beside me and arranged the chocolates before taking my camera from my hands. She tinkered for a moment before bending over to snap several shots. When she stood back up, she showed me the results.

"The wrappers are reflective, so you have to adjust for the glare, and by arranging them in pairs with complementary colors it leads the eye through the picture," she informed me as she scrolled through the photos. They were all better than mine by a lot. With no editing.

"Oh, yes. That is better. I don't know much about color, obviously. Thanks."

Bella was genuinely hilarious in every video. Playing off of me effortlessly, she was excited to try everything, even the weird flavors. She was honest with what she thought, but in such a gentle and funny way.

"So," she began with a little laugh as she took a sip of a peach cola we had just rated. "When I was twenty I went to Disneyworld for the first time. And Epcot at the time had this part where you could try different sodas from around the world, and it genuinely ruined sodas for me for _years_. So many were terrible. _Horrible_… Just literally _cruel_," she giggled at the memory. "I didn't drink soda for almost four years after that before I broke down and started having them every once in a while."

"That bad?" I asked curiously.

"There was a soda from… Oh, I don't remember. Some South American country and I was super excited because Mexican sodas are the _bomb_. Like the best. I took a huge gulp, and it was like a carbonated cocktail made with reject vinegar."

"Gross!" I laughed at her choice of description. "_No_."

"I just automatically," she stuck out her tongue. "It was terrible. Like a baby who just tried something healthy for the first time. And my husband was like, '_did you sneak liquor into the park and not share?!_' And I should have been offended that was his first thought that I was drunk, but it sounds like something I would have done at twenty because screw him, he could buy his own drinks. And Disneyworld drunk sounds like a ton of fun when you're that age," she continued to laugh, her expression playful and silly. She bobbed her head to the words, making her curls bounce. Bella looked too innocent for her story, which made it all the funnier.

I laughed as well at her little routine she was performing for me. I covered my mouth quickly so I wouldn't spit soda everywhere. I wasn't sure if she was screwing with me or not. I couldn't see this mild-mannered little woman drunk, let alone in public. Though, I was sure it was something interesting to witness.

"Should have gone to school in Sydney. The drinking age is eighteen."

"Oh, good god _no_. Not having unlimited access to liquor at eighteen is probably the only reason I'm still alive. And, not a stripper in Jersey." She flipped her hair over her shoulder in a funny way. Yeah, she was for sure fucking with me. _I think. _She was so good at keeping her face straight, and I was extremely gullible.

My brain fizzled at the idea of her stripping. I heard her giggle at my expression, and I looked away, trying to compose myself. I was sure my cheeks were red hot. I gave a short nervous laugh.

"Honestly, I've gone to a strip club a grand total of three times. Once out of curiosity and then twice for bachelor parties for my friends and I loathed it each time. It's so embarrassing," I admitted to her quietly.

"Why?" She laughed curiously. "If they work there willingly, I'm sure they wouldn't hate dancing for you," Bella teased. "There would be girls having cat fights over you. Hot, young, wealthy, as tall as a stripper pole..."

I laughed loudly in embarrassment, throwing my head back. "I don't want to be aroused by strangers in public. _Thanks_."

None of this conversation was going into the video. She seemed to be not bothered, and I felt like my face was on fire. I think she knew I was easily embarrassed. I could practically see the twinkle in her eye.

"So, in private, it would be fine?" She asked me dryly over her soda before taking another drink. She was screwing with me now purposely. I was sure of it. Then she slowly raised her eyebrows.

"The stranger part is a problem, too," I replied. "I'm too shy for that."

"You know, last week I would have scoffed, but yeah, I can _maybe _see that," Bella said a bit disbelievingly. "Mm, I can understand that though," she said thoughtfully. Her smile grew a little wicked. "Kudos to you to have the restraint to not screw everything that moves. I'm impressed."

I giggled meanly and smiled at the camera as I knew who exactly was going to watching this later. "My best mate is _so_ disappointed in me. He's told me if he were me he'd fuck everyone. Which, I love him, but he's already accomplishing that on his own. But, he's right. I probably should relax more."

It was her turn to laugh. "Honestly, good for him! Get some! Life is too short."

"Get some diseases!" I joked.

"Condoms exist. Oh, god. Why did I just use the word _condoms_ in a video about Japanese sodas, Eddie? Where is this conversation even going?" She laughed, her cheeks pleasantly pink. We were both having too much fun being stupid with each other.

I put both of my hands over my eyes and laughed as well as I pushed my hair off of my forehead. "Fuck if I know. None of that will leave this room. I swear."

"Good," she said with a little smile. "This one is pretty good. I might finish it. I like it. Is this the last one or…?"

"Shit. No. Hold on," I said, finally getting back to work. It was fun just to joke around with her.

When I couldn't think of another video to make with her, Bella left me alone in my office to edit. She said she needed to start cooking anyway. When she left, I checked my messages.

"_Is there any particular reason you're in love with her now? Or is it just in general?"_ He joked.

"_Well, she's cooking for me right now."_

"_Cooking for you?"_ He answered back surprisingly quick.

"_Yes. She's making us dinner tonight in my kitchen."_

"_So, are you getting laid tonight?" _I snorted at the message. "_This is obvo a date."_

"_No, it's not lol. And no. I don't see that happening."_

"_Then why tf is she cooking for you?"_

_"I kind of asked. She said she missed her own food, so I offered to pay for the groceries if she wanted to cook. She picked out a ton of shit. I'm excited. And I filmed some more videos with her." _

"_What are you going to do when this chick leaves?"_ He asked me curiously. I didn't have an answer for him.

"_I'm not sure. Beg her to stay? I know what I'm doing tonight at least."_

I worked for a long time, quickly editing the simple videos with Bella in them so I could put them up as fast as possible. I wanted to see how everyone else reacted to her. I wondered if they would love her as much as I did. I threw them up into the queue to automatically post on my busiest days.

My flow was interrupted by the beeping of a text. I half expected it to be Jasper again or maybe one of my sisters. But instead, it was Bella.

"_The food is ready."_

After washing my hands, I hurried into the living room like an eager child. It immediately smelled delicious. Chicken and cheese perfumed the air. The wine was already waiting for us on the table with beautifully made plates.

"Oh, my god! It smells so amazing in here! I don't even know what you made, and I'm already thrilled to eat it!"

Bella flushed a little at my complimentary words. "Roasted chicken with a creamy Parmesan, spinach, and mushroom sauce served with crispy roasted Italian butter potatoes. And, garlic toast for the sauce. The glass of wine is the same kind that I put in the sauce, so it should pair well."

"Goodness! That sounds magnificent!" I praised her happily. It was wildly more complicated than I had been expecting it to be. It was a full-on dining experience.

"Thank you!"

"No, thank you for cooking all of this! I'm so excited to shove all of this into my face." I sat down and eagerly took a drink of my wine.

Everything tasted better than it smelled. It was by far the best meal any person had ever cooked for me. Even if I burned my mouth like an idiot trying to shovel it down too quickly.

I was far too charmed by her to even think about my mask for once. She teased me as I ate. Our conversations were so easy. The way she described food somehow made me even more hungry while we dined.

"You should learn to cook. At least a few things. You love food so much. Just seems like a natural fit. You know, even if you do hire someone else to do it for you," she said in passing.

"Maybe. You want to teach me?" I asked, hopefully.

"If we had more time I'd love to. We're going to be so busy the next few days, though. You have the charity game tomorrow and then skydiving Saturday. I'm sure you'll be tired on Sunday." Bella had a pretty little pout on her very kissable lips. "Come visit me in Queens. I'll teach you in my tiny kitchen. It is fully loaded."

That was quite a thought. I wondered what it would be like to be alone with her in her apartment. Not for work, but because we wanted to be together. I would willingly do whatever she wished if I got the chance to spend time in her kitchen.

"What would you teach me to cook?" I asked her curiously as I stabbed at the salad. Even the dressing was homemade.

"Anything you wanted."

"I'll make a list before I come to visit then." I smiled at her. She grinned in return. I so wanted to reach over and kiss her in that moment of silence that followed.

I instead decided to eat my feelings. At least it was delicious. It was so easy to devour.

"I thought you didn't like to indulge when you're working," my mouth commented without my permission. I instantly regretted it. Bella stopped what she was doing, and I could see a hot embarrassed blush crawl up her cheeks. _Fuck. _

"Oh. I don't normally, but I didn't even think about it. I just went into hostess mode like I would for my friends. I'm sorry."

Well, something good came out of that. I could barely breathe out the words, "does that mean you think of me as a friend?"

She looked down at her empty plate, biting her bottom lip before glancing up at me with her pretty eyes. "I mean... yeah. I guess I do. You're so friendly and easy to be around. If that's okay?"

"Why wouldn't it be okay? I feel the same, to be honest. We've gotten tattoos together. It's kind of a serious step in any friendship. I think. I don't know. Perhaps." I couldn't find the words to tell her I wanted to be more than friends. But, she was there for work, and I didn't want to be the kind of creep who would push himself on a woman in this situation. I had embarrassed her with wine, after all. I glanced at the clock. I wanted to give her all of my attention. "I think I'll stop editing for the night. It's a busy day tomorrow."

"Did you finish what you need to?" She asked me curiously, her face almost seemed sad though I wasn't sure why.

"Oh, yeah. I make a lot more videos than I post, actually. Kind of save them up for a rainy day. You know, if I'm busy or sick. Or, just not in the mood. Or traveling or working. So, I'm always way ahead when it comes to my video content for my channel. I just enjoy editing, too."

"How many fully made unposted videos do you have right now?"

"About forty."

"Wow!" Her eyes got big in surprise. "That's so many. How often do you post online?"

"Daily. I know it sounds like a lot but most of them are just little videos. Quick ones I did alone in the house. Lots of food ones and lists. Video game playthroughs. The big ones I film with Seth and Tyler go up pretty quickly, usually. Within the month. But, I also film ahead for holidays, too," I explained. Honestly, I usually had more videos than that lined up, but I was working a lot lately.

"I guess that makes sense. Do you ever make a video you don't post period?" Bella asked curiously. She was so full of questions. I liked them.

"Mm, they generally get posted. If I don't think it's amazing, I throw up two a day up, one as a bonus episode. I also have a private video diary, but I don't ever show that to anyone, and I don't intend to. It's just for me." I didn't mean to tell her the last part. I wanted to take it all back.

"My pictures are my diary. I don't mind showing people, though. They don't understand the memories behind them." Her smile was so encouraging as she shared this part of herself with me easily. I felt exposed to her, and she was perfectly accepting. And she had no idea. It obviously came to her naturally.

"I can see that," I whispered.

We held each other's gaze for a long hot second. I saw as her chest began to rise and fall more quickly before she shook her head. Bella finished the rest of her drink in one long gulp as she looked away.

Maybe she felt the heat, too.

"So, would you like to have ice cream sundaes by the pool with me?" I asked, hopefully.

"That sounds like an extremely effective pickup line," Bella deadpanned, but I could see her teasing in the shape of her mouth. I couldn't help but laugh. She called me out perfectly.

"You are not wrong."

"Handsome Youtuber used obscene wealth and sugar. It was super effective," she smirked as she made the Pokemon reference.

Oh, if that were only true.

"No, it's not! I've been single for bloody months." My mouth began to run away again, and I couldn't stop it as I got up to make us our desserts. Two big glasses of wine and I was already buzzed. "I guess if I just wanted a shag, it would be one thing but I'm not comfortable with it. I've not even been on a proper date in months. What would you like in yours?"

"Fix it however you like, but with extra cherries," she replied before surprisingly taking my picture. I had almost forgotten about her camera. "How long has it been, if I may ask?"

"I had a blind date to a Fourth of July party at a work friend's place. It was dreadful. I've met a bag of rocks, who was a better conversation partner." I was mad at Seth for a week after that bullshit. Awkward as _hell._ "No personality."

When I brought her the ice cream, she took pictures with a slight giggle and a cheeky smile. She looked excited to eat it too, though.

"What about you? Last date?"

"I've not dated since my husband passed." She shrugged. "Dating is tough everywhere, I guess."

_Fuck._ Why do I keep picking bad topics? _What the fuck._ Of course, it wasn't since her dead husband. I was extremely curious about him, though. I wanted to ask her so many questions.

"What was his name? Your husband? If I may ask."

"Aiden Levi Zucker. Doctor, actually. Dr. Zucker," she said, almost wistfully with a sigh. Then she forced a smile.

"You didn't take his last name," I said automatically.

"No, I was kind of using my name professionally by then. Working and in school, and it would have been so hard to change everything. I didn't mind his name. But I kinda think he liked it, to appear more liberal to his friends in that sense. He was a professor of anthropology," she explained to me as she mainly ate the cherries from her ice cream. "His friends could be such judgemental assholes. I had a thicker accent then, and they thought I was stupid trash. They weren't afraid to let me know in their own special ways. And, they probably thought I was a gold digger, too. Not that Aiden would have told me if they thought that."

_What the actual fuck?_ Rude judgemental cunts.

"Just because of your accent?" _What the hell is wrong with her accent?_ It was sweet and charming. I loved it.

"I was _much _younger than him too, but I don't know. Well, people are _just_ terrible sometimes. My friends all loved him, though. He was a good man."

I decided to ask a different question and offer up some of myself in the process. "What's your full name? I don't know your middle name. Mine is Anthony, by the way. Edward Anthony Cullen." I wasn't ready for her to meet Tony yet, I think. I wasn't sure I ever would. I liked being Edward with her.

"Isabella Marie Swan."

I had forgotten that she had said her name. I didn't realize it was actually her name, though. "Oh... I thought you were just joking before with the beauty queen bit. Are you named after anyone? It's a pretty name."

"I don't know. It's a really common name, especially now. My mom picked it out. I don't know if I am or not. Never got to ask her. I'd love to ask her a whole lot of things actually. Mainly like _what the fuck_, but eh. That's life, I guess. Wholly unsatisfying with its lack of answers," she complained with a little sigh in her voice before shaking her head to herself.

That was another question I wanted to ask.

"What happened to your mom? You said she died when you were five. Was she sick?"

Bella's face dropped for a moment before it morphed into what I realized was her mask. Her voice was perfectly calm, and even as she spoke the most horrifying thing I had ever heard. "Oh, um. No. Not exactly. She was an addict. She overdosed on heroin while driving and rammed into a power pole at fifty miles an hour. She shot up right before she started driving. Did it in a Sonic parking lot and rammed into the pole about fifty feet away."

_FUCK._ I actually gasped loudly.

"Jesus! I'm...That just... _sucks._ My god! Oh no. How terrible. I am so sorry.

She seemed to be not upset for some reason. Instead, she indulged curiosities she couldn't possibly have known I had. She showed me the scar on her cheek like a fond battle wound. "It's much fainter than it used to be, but that's how I got this." She traced her finger over her skin. I had noticed it before, but it was very light. "A _no parking_ sign went into my face. I broke several bones, too. Went through the glass. I was in the hospital in a medically induced coma for a week. Good times."

I think I might have choked on my tongue for a moment. Then my outrage set in.

"Oh, no. And you were just five? You were in the car, though? She took drugs with you and drove while high? I know I smoke weed, but I'd never drive _ever,_ let alone with my little helpless daughter in the car. I am... Gah. I don't even know. Angry and sad. I want to go back to give little… well _smaller_, you a hug. You've lost more people before you were even a teenager than I have in my entire life. Even my grandparents are still alive and in good health. One of them moved to Australia to be closer to my parents and the other fucked off to Ireland to retire just recently," I blathered on.

"Where are your parents and grandparents from originally again?" She asked, changing the subject for both of us. I was glad to let it be changed.

"Father's Scottish and my Mum's English. They met at Uni. They moved _down_ _under_ for my mom's work. She was a lawyer and now a retired judge."

"Impressive."

"Yeah, but it means I got away with literally fucking nothing growing up," I told her honestly. Bella just laughed.

"I couldn't either, but that's because my grandmother was a strict Catholic who made me go to church several times a week. She filled every second of every day with something to keep me busy. Idle hands are the devil's playground, you know. Too busy to be too bad." She then made the sign of the cross.

"I didn't realize you were Catholic."

"I'm not anymore. I was just raised in the church. And, went to a Catholic school. And, worked at a church for four years. But I haven't been to church in years now. I've been to temple more recently than that."

"Temple?"

She gave me a small smile as she ducked her head. "Aiden was Jewish. We had a little Jewish wedding where you stomp on the glass and everything. I went to my niece's Bat Mitzvah about a month ago. Because there is nothing more adult than thirty thirteen-year-old girls trying to figure out how to dance to a DJ who stopped listening to music in the early 2000s surrounded by your ancient relatives."

I laughed as I could very clearly imagine it. "I don't know. Sounds fun."

"It was. Great food, too," she replied before she pushed the rest of her ice cream in my direction. She had picked out the dozen or so cherries I had put it in for her. I wouldn't turn it down. I was still nervously eating. It didn't stop my mouth, though.

"So, are you Jewish then?"

"Atheist, actually. So was he, but we went for his mother. It made her happy, and he was all about his family. Which was one of the reasons I loved him so much."

So was I, and I could understand doing that for one's family.

"I miss my family. I'm the youngest of five. I'm the only boy, too. I'm really close to my sisters. I talk to them every day through text practically. I miss seeing them almost every day, though. And, my nieces. I've got seven nieces, and I used to babysit them all. Well, one of them was only born very recently. That's the last time I saw them. When the new baby, Ava, was born. So, two months ago. My parents have been driving the new mother up the wall," I explained to her. I hated not seeing her growing up. I got sent pictures nearly daily, but it wasn't enough. I wanted to help Irina as much as I had helped Tanya, Carmen, or Sasha.

I was admittedly not sad about not being around my insane and bitchy mother. Irina had been fighting with her all week, and they were both fit to be tied.

"Wow, seven. I just have the one technically. She is a sweetie, though. I used to babysit her, as well. I'm glad my in-laws let me hang around, but I've always felt out of place, even if they've only ever been kind to me."

"My sisters would love you. They'd fawn over your pretty hair and your pictures. I actually bought one of them, and my mom, one of your prints as a gift. From your website. Before you came here. For their birthdays coming up," I blurted out and just kept talking. I meant just for my mother's birthday, but I didn't want to keep spewing at her. It didn't matter anyway. I was still feeling the wine. She seemed embarrassed again.

"Oh! That's so nice… I have pretty hair?" Bella asked me slowly.

_Hell, might as well be honest with her... _

"Yeah. Those pretty ringlets of yours. They'd want to know how you do it. Ask for all your magical secrets. All their hair is board straight, and I don't know how many hours of their lives they've wasted trying to make it curly," I laughed a little as I thought of my sisters fighting over the bathroom mirror.

"I wash and condition my hair and then comb it... and then let it dry into whatever ungodly mess it feels like creating that day. Sometimes it's ringlets, sometimes it's a fro. It's a chance game. Sometimes I blow dry and straighten it, but I didn't bring any of that with me. I forgot them. Photographers aren't really supposed to be the ones being looked at anyway," she said as she glanced up from under her eyelashes. She might have been a free spirit, but she could be shy, too. Bella hid behind her camera just like I hid in front of mine.

"Fair enough."

"When will you see them again? Your family?" She decided to change the subject again.

"February, sadly. Around Valentine's some time. Everyone is coming together. My parents are going on some kind of crazy month-long cruise at Christmas, and I work pretty solid until then anyway. It's the longest I've been away from them."

Sad about missing my siblings, over the moon about missing out on that stressful family function.

Bella made a disgusted little face. It was almost the same as the one I made when I heard the news. "A month-long cruise? That is too long on a boat."

"I agree, but it is their retirement money they're wasting," I said as I started to clean up. I had run out of things to eat and needed to do something with my hands. Bella began to gather the items left on the table. "Thank you for all the amazing food and the company tonight. And, the videos earlier, too."

"I had a great time, and I'm glad you enjoyed the meal." Her smile was so easy and warm.

"I think I'm going to have a smoke. Would you like to join me?" I asked, hopefully. I wasn't ready for the evening to over with yet.

"Um, actually I should probably get some work done myself before heading to bed. Again, thank you so much for today. Dinner was exactly what I needed."

"Me, too."

I was starting to think Bella was precisely what I needed and not just for the day.

I watched her retreating form with a little sigh. Well, it wasn't a perfect evening. It wasn't my best performance. Then I remembered I wasn't performing for her. I was being myself. But, she didn't seem to be upset about how the evening went. Talking about her tragedy didn't seem to bother her. Maybe she needed to talk about it. Perhaps she just needed someone to listen.

For a brief second, I wondered if I could be exactly what she needed, too.

**This goes with Episode 7 of Imperfect Pictures.**

**Thanks for reading! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Episode Seven- **

Jasper sent a message when he got off work, asking how my day went. Instead of answering, I called him. I was sitting with my feet in the refreshing pool water, laying back as I smoked.

"So, here's my problem," I began talking right away. "Bella cooked for me tonight."

"And it was terrible?"

"No, it was goddamn perfect is what it was. Best meal I've ever had made for me. In my own home. Just because I asked her to."

Jasper sighed, "so, what's the problem?"

"She's always going to view this as a work thing. We shared a bottle of wine, and when I pointed it out, she got flustered. I think I embarrassed her. And I accidentally brought up all this really sad shit."

"Like what?"

"How her mom died. Oh, _darling, _it's the fucking worst. The girl was in the car. Her mother overdosed while driving with her. She's got a little thin Joker style kind of scar to one side. It's really faint. A fucking sign went through her face. And she just kind shows me like it's nothing. And we talked about her late husband. He was a doctor. A professor of goddamn anthropology. Swan is his maiden name, apparently. Her husband's name was Zucker."

"That means sugar in German," my friend commented offhandedly.

"I know. I bet she does, too. But Anyway, the way she talks about the things she cares about is so passionate. I could listen to her for days! I want her to tell me everything about her life."

"I've never heard you talk this way about anyone before."

"I know. This is insanity. I know. I just… Agh…" I moaned. "How do I do this? How do I respect her and her job and still tell her how I feel? Seriously though. My sisters always used to complain about men that hit on girls at work. What if I'm doing that? What if she's just being nice to me? What if this is just normal human interaction, but I'm so bad at it that I have no fucking idea what I'm doing?"

"Darling. Breathe."

"Argh," I said again, dryly, then taking a deep breath.

"She cooked for you."

"I asked. What if she felt like she couldn't say no?"

"Tony. Please. I know how you worded it. _I mean, if you wanna. You don't have to. It's totally up to you. Whatever you want. Please walk all over me_."

"I would let her walk on me. It would probably feel good. Like one of those weird Japanese massages where they walk on your back," I continued to deadpan.

He snorted. "Barefoot, for sure."

"Oh, god. Yes. No shoes. Just knee socks. And nothing else," I hummed, taking another hit. He laughed again, the reaction I wanted. "Fuck, I've been around you too long. That wasn't very respectful."

"Yeah, you want to be really _respectful_," he drew out respectful in a funny sort of way. It was his fucking-with-you voice, also known as the I-think-I'm-funny voice.

"Honestly, I'd worship this girl if she gave me a chance. I feel like everything she's ever had handed to her is so sad, and she's too delicate and sweet for that. I want to give her everything. I want to protect her and just…" I trailed off, babbling.

"Aw," he said softly. "Worship is a strong word, though."

"It's the truth."

"So, what you're saying is that you want to spend a lot of time on your knees in front of this woman," he teased with a little laugh.

"You know what, you think you're fucking funny-"

"I am, bitch."

"Psh," I bemoaned. "You're kind of an asshole. I was being sincere."

"So was I. You're just horny."

"Have you ever known me to be just horny?" I asked seriously.

"I haven't known you to be this single in a while. So… "

"Bah," I complained.

"I'm not blaming you. I just think you need to calm your fucking tits, you overdramatic cunt. You should relax. Tomorrow don't you have to go to a party?"

"I have two parties this week, actually. _Yay_," I said deadpanned.

"Drink. Mingle. Have fun. Talk to people. You're very good at pretending like you enjoy talking to other people. Go do that. Yes, Bella is very nice. I like her too just from her videos. But, as you said, she's leaving soon. So, none of this matters. Flirt. Relax. The worst she can do is say she's not interested, which, she fucking is, _pussy_," he breathed the last word. I grunted in response. "You know I'm right. You need to get out more. This wouldn't seem so dramatic then."

"No," I replied. "I get out plenty."

"For work."

"So?"

"It's not the same. We miss you desperately, Tony, but you need to make new friends. You need to get laid. If it's this Bella, then good. If not, well too bad for her. I've seen your dick. It is appropriately proportioned to your body." It was his turn to be dry and sarcastic.

I laughed loudly. "Aw, thanks, mate. Really. I love you, too."

"On that note, go the fuck to bed. I need to eat, and you need to try to sleep."

"Yeah, I do. I do miss you, and love you. Even if you're perverted and weird."

"It's because I am, probably."

"No," I said and then hung up on him with a smirk.

He sent a text message. _"Btw, I'm not that big of a whore. Stop shaming me to make yourself look better in front of your crush. You're just jealous that I can talk to people. Wanker." _

I sent him a gif that said '_boo, whore_.'

I finished my smoke and went to bed. It took forever to fall asleep. When I did, I dreamed about faceless women in my bed, kissing me and touching me. I wasn't particularly enjoying it in the dream. It was almost as if I was just observing it.

After showering, I went into the living room to find Bella. She smiled when she saw me, putting on the kettle for coffee.

This morning she was wearing a pretty black silkie shirt that draped over her shoulders and swooped along her collarbone. Her curly hair was pulled up in a ponytail, showing off the gentle slope of her neck. As I came closer, I realized that she was cooking again. Her computer was on the island, and it was opened to the editing program. Dozens of pictures on the screen were of me.

"Would you like some breakfast?" She offered me with a sweet smile on her lips.

"Yes, please," I answered. It was hard to look away from her work. I looked so happy in all of the pictures. I wondered if she saw me this way. They were probably the best pictures I had ever had taken of me. At least the ones I liked the most.

"If you want to see more, you can scroll there. Or, you can go to the side here and look at the different days." Bella leaned over the bar, pointing out the different features.

"Thanks."

"What would you like to eat?" She asked as she went back to whatever she was doing before I came in.

"Whatever you're making," I replied with a yawn. Slowly scrolling through, I looked at just a few of the thousands of pictures she had already taken.

"I'm making myself a vegetarian omelet with sauteed shallots, mushrooms, tomatoes, and spinach. With fried potatoes and toast with butter," she explained casually. It sounded delicious. All it needed was some meat.

"That sounds amazing. Do we have any of that chicken from last night, leftover?"

She smiled at me again. "Yup, I can add that if you like."

Her smiles were so easy. I wondered if it was just her or if it was an American thing. Looking at the pictures, I couldn't help but be reminded that this was a job again. But I didn't want to think about that. I wanted to believe that the lovely woman in the kitchen was there because she wanted to be with me.

"That sounds so good. Thank you. Do I... do I need to help in some way? Is there something I can do?"

"Could you wash that skillet for me in the sink?" She asked.

I hadn't watched her the day before while she had cooked. It was like she was dancing around the room, her movements quick and graceful. Everything she did was perfectly timed. Bella would hum to herself a little as she worked, occasionally asking me questions or to hand her stuff.

"Let's eat by the pool," I said once the food was done since it was such a beautiful day. She instantly agreed.

Her breakfasts were as good as her dinners. It was so much more delicious than I expected, and I expected it to be excellent.

As much as I enjoyed doing my charity work, I hated going from the wonderfully peaceful morning to the chaos of the gaming event put on for the release of Red Ops 3. I couldn't let it show, though. I smiled for every picture and talked to anyone who wished to speak to me. I enjoyed talking to the children the most. They were always so eager and excited about everything.

And throughout the whole thing, Bella quietly followed behind, taking pictures as I worked through the crowd with my mask firmly in place. Sometimes when she looked at me, it felt as if she was looking right through it.

I personally had never heard of the guy who was playing with me for the day in the match. I knew his father, though. He was a legendary actor and director. I didn't know what his son had accomplished, besides being attractive, in Hollywood. Apparently, he was on some television show that I had never watched.

"Scott and I are super excited to compete for our charities today! So, my man, who are you playing for this afternoon?" I started in front of the cameras for the stuff for the channel. Bella was kneeling in front of us, taking pictures the whole time.

"Heifers United, which is a fantastic organization that brings animals to impoverished areas to help give people not only a source of food but pride," he replied in a thickened southern accent that was different from Bella's.

"That is so awesome! And I am playing for the Toys for Tots program, which helps give toys to kids at Christmas which is coming up very soon. Three of my favorite things are kids, toys, and Christmas. Insert a picture of last Christmas with all my adorable nieces here," I chuckled as I remembered the happy memory. "So, whatever I win, I will also match! But fear not, I will donate at a minimum of ten thousand dollars no matter happens!"

"Sounds like a great idea. I'll do the same."

"Even if we get that twenty-five thousand dollars first place?" I asked with a big smile. There was no way we were going to win. I was okay, not great, at the game. "I mean, obviously we're going to win. You've been practicing, right?"

"Right!" He grinned. I would have been surprised if he had even picked up a controller before.

"Then let's go win some cows and toys!" I shouted. "Oi, that sounded better in my head."

I heard Bella giggle from her kneeling position on the floor, a smile just hidden behind her camera. I winked at her, returning her smile.

"And cut," I mumbled before shaking Scott's hand. "Thanks so much. That was perfect. I'm excited to play with you."

"Same."

I had played in these things a few times before. It was always harder to play when there are so many people around you. But I had never played with Bella standing less than a few inches from me. She was so close that her lovely scent overwhelmed my nose. Just like at the recording studio, I wanted to do my best for her.

Scott had obviously not played the game very much though. We did fine in the first practice round, but in the second we died very quickly. It was embarrassing as hell. Stupid curses flew my mouth like a pouty child who just lost to their sibling. Half the time, I didn't even realize that I was doing it.

When we got a little break before the real match, I watched Bella talk to Seth and Tyler. She was laughing and smiling with them so easily too. I wanted to think that she liked me, but I wasn't sure. Maybe she was just a pleasant woman. Then I remembered Jasper's words from the night before. _Relax. Have fun. _

Once again, Bella was so close I could smell her. The salt of her sweat mixed with the sugary scent of her perfume and shampoo.

I could have fun and try to show off at the same time, I figured. I wasn't sure it was possible for me to relax.

My partner was more than useless. He died halfway through the game after drawing attention to us from two different teams. That didn't seem to matter, though, because I was on a roll. I killed a dozen people easily and somehow came in third. I had no idea how, but I did. I don't think Scott was expecting us to do so well. I hoped he kept up his end and donated whatever money he was going to. If not, I would give his part as well.

"Well, it was hard. I played not that well. But in the end, it looks like we're going to be able to give away lots of heifers and a whole lot of toys today," I spouted happily at the camera for Seth as he filmed. "I'll link both charities in the box down below if you want to donate and let's make this world a little better together. Thanks! Buh-bye!"

The game was the best part of the event. I always found the after parties so boring. They were all the same. I didn't want to get drunk and chat with people I didn't know. Of course, it was required by contract, and I was going to get paid a lot of money to be there. So, I had to suck it up. Not the drunk part, just the being there part. Drinking is what I felt I needed to get through it.

I went to the bar to get myself a drink or two alone just to have a few minutes to myself. I got a quick shot of whiskey, which I threw back before ordering a beer. I also got bottles of water for Seth, Tyler, and Bella. It was so hot in there, and it had been such a long day already.

I didn't stop at one beer, though. I had a few, an occasional shot mixed in there as well whenever I would go get another. It was a terrible idea because our breakfast was all gone, and it was making me tipsy. But, I needed something to get through having the same conversations over and over again. Movies, television, scripts, weather. _Why yes, I'll take a look at your project. Send it to my manager. I'll consider reading for the part. Oh, I did hear about the rain, but I won't believe it until I see it… _

All I could think about was Bella. She looked as bored as I felt. The guys knew how I felt about these things. They were bored too, but they were getting paid, so they didn't care.

I was starting to think seriously about leaving when a pretty young woman walked up to me. She was very tall, close to my height with her impressive heels. Her long blonde hair went down her back, her blue eyes slightly glazed over from drinking as well.

"Hi, I've seen you on YouTube before," she began in a high pitched voice that I didn't feel was fitting to her body. I wondered if she was putting it on for me. _I can put my mask on for you too,_ I thought drunkenly. Flirt, relax, have fun. _I can do this. _

"Yes, I've been known to be seen there," I grinned at her.

"I'm Tabby." She offered me her hand. Gently, I shook it before quickly releasing it.

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Tabby. Do you play the game?"

"No. But I saw that you came in third! That's really cool. You're, like, _really_ good," she gushed. I felt myself flush a little bit, far too proud of my achievement.

"Thank you, my dear! That is very kind of you to say," I said in my father's accent. She giggled, leaning more into me.

"And you're jumping out of a plane tomorrow, right? I think that's what the announcer said anyway. That's so sexy! You're into, like, action adventure," she continued, fluffing my ego further and further. I hated how much I liked it right then. I needed the confidence it gave me.

"Yeah, I kind of am... into _action_... and adventure, I mean," I joked stupidly, flirting back with her.

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

Well, that went from zero to one hundred very quickly.

"Uh, no. I broke up with my girlfriend a few months ago, right before I moved to the US actually. She didn't want to come with me," I told her honestly with a pout.

"That's a shame. I don't have a boyfriend either," she replied.

"I'm sure whoever wins your affection will be a very lucky man," I told her pleasantly.

"That could be you," she whispered in my ear before slipping something into my pocket. I didn't have to look to know she had given me her phone number. "If you ditch your camera crew, we can have a little adventure of our own right now."

"Ah," I laughed nervously, backing away from her just a couple of steps. "That's a very… _interesting_… offer, but I must decline. I have to work, and I have a good friend staying at my home." When I looked over, I realized that Bella was no longer standing beside Seth and Tyler and instantly began to panic. "Hey, where's Bella?"

Seth looked around the room, looking for her. "She went to take pictures, I think. I saw her around here a minute ago." I could tell by the look on his face he wasn't having fun here either and was ready to go. Tyler was keeping himself busy with his phone.

"Um, can you excuse us, Tabby?" I said, still looking around. Bella being alone made me nervous for some stupid reason. There were so many terrible people in Hollywood. I glanced over at the blonde. "I'm sorry I have to get back to work now."

"Call me," she said, still just as determined as before, winking at me.

"You could do so much better," Tyler mumbled under his breath, not looking up from his phone as he did when she walked away.

"I was just being polite," I whispered so she couldn't hear it.

"Yeah. Right. She shoved her hand in your pocket _very_ politely," Seth joked.

"Shut up," I muttered. "Oh, shit. Did Bella see her do that?"

Seth and Tyler looked at each other. Tyler rolled his eyes and shook his head, Seth grinned at me.

"I don't think so," he continued to smirk as he spoke. "Why would it matter, though?"

"It… just… Wasn't very unprofessional. I shouldn't have let her do that," I babbled, still eyeing the room.

"How professional is it to get hammered?" Tyler teased with a small smirk. The pretty girl wasn't around, so they were going to torture me freely.

"I'm not. I'm just… tipsy. Shut up," I repeated. "Let's go find Bella so we can go. I'm ready to get out of here."

It took me a few moments to find the sweet photographer. She was standing in front of a large window that overlooked the stadium where we had played. It was completely dark now, but the city was shining beautifully behind it. She clicked several pictures, a small frown on her lovely face.

"Hey!" I called to her. "I was worried I had lost you."

"Sorry," Bella answered dejectedly as she took another shot.

"You alright?"

"Yes, just tired and hungry. It's been a long day," she answered as she put away her camera. Her voice was actually emotionless and quiet. I hadn't heard her like that before.

"Yeah, we can head out now. We did our time. I'll text Seth and Tyler. They're looking for you, too," I told her as I frowned to myself, pulling my phone out to tell my friends where we were.

"You could have texted me."

As soon as she said it, I felt stupid. Of course. I could have just texted her like a normal person instead of running around like a nervous chicken with its head cut off.

"I guess you're right. I didn't think about it. I'm tired, too," I admitted. I shook it away. "What kind of dinner would you like?"

"Your choice."

"I'm asking you." I just wanted her to talk to me as she had the day before. Happy and open. She seemed so annoyed and closed off.

"You should ask Seth and Tyler," she snapped. Her face turned a little red, and she quickly looked away, her arms wrapped around her chest.

"Okay," I cleared my throat, sad.

Bella changed her stance a little, glancing over at me. "So, did she give you her number? She was very pretty. And tall. Christ, so tall."

"She was, and she did," I replied. I took the napkin that the girl had shoved in my pocket, and without looking at what was on it, began to tear it apart. I wanted to show Bella precisely what it meant to me. It was nothing. It was barely a conversation. I threw it into the rubbish bin right where it belonged.

She seemed surprised. "Why would you do that?"

"Because I'm not really interested in her, but I felt like I needed to be polite and take it. So many girls here in Hollywood are so forward, and they're obviously not in it for a relationship, if you know what I mean. It's kind of disheartening," I answered, hoping to give her some little piece of my real self. I wanted her to know that wasn't me. I wasn't the type of person who just wanted to root around with some random plastic person. I meant what I said the day before.

"She could have been a model," she said as if it mattered in the least. "And you don't know. Maybe it's not money. She could have been in it just to have sex with a hot celebrity."

"Yeah, no thanks. Pretty isn't worth it," I told her quietly. I wasn't looking for pretty. I was looking for breathtaking, like Bella. "Here, let me carry your bag for you. I know that has to be heavy after such a long day." I took her things from her quickly, putting it over my shoulder. Bella looked surprised, blushing again.

The silence between us was horribly awkward. I was so grateful when the guys showed up.

"Come on, let's go get food. One of you decide what to eat." I said, ready to escape the situation.

Seth and Tyler bickered like children over which chicken place was the best while we walked to the car. I walked in silent stride with Bella. She was chewing on her thumb, her eyes downcast as she focused on walking.

I opened the back door for her. Her eyes caught mine for a moment, and once again, her cheeks flamed red hot. She slipped in, her eyes averted from me the whole time.

I kicked myself mentally the entire way home. I tried to pretend that I was fine as we ate, but Bella was noticeably quiet at the table. She quickly ate a little before she breathed out that she was heading to bed.

"So," Tyler drew out as we watched her walk to my guest bedroom. He picked at his fried chicken. "What exactly did you do to piss her off?"

"I don't know," I lied. I knew what happened and I think he did too. He glanced over at Seth again.

"Are you going to talk to her?" Seth asked.

"What would I say?" I asked them quietly, feeling so unsure of myself and confused.

"_I don't know what drunken thing I did, but I'm sorry for offending you_," he joked. I scoffed, looking away from him.

"When I asked if she was alright at the arena, she said she tired."

"It was a long day. I imagine it has been a long week for her," Tyler agreed. He looked wiped, too. "Maybe she is just tired."

"Maybe," I replied softly.

"I'd check on her," Seth said, stretching his arms above his head before he stood. "She's a good kid. I like her. I kind of wish she didn't have to go. Maybe we need a photographer for the channel."

"Maybe," I said again with a little laugh. It was certainly an idea. A dumb one. The last thing I wanted was a work relationship with her.

"I'm going to the bathroom. I'm ready to head out whenever you are," he told Tyler who was still eating a chicken wing. He nodded and took another big bite. It was late, and I knew he wanted to get back home to his girlfriend.

It took several minutes and a smoke to get my courage up to go knock on her door. I didn't know exactly what I was going to say.

"Come in," she called softly from the other side of the door.

When I opened it, Bella was standing beside her bed. Her hair was wet, and she was wearing a light gray striped nightgown, her feet and legs bare. Her eyes still looked so sad. It made me hate myself.

"I wanted to check on you and make sure you're alright."

"Yea, I'm fine," she said quietly before a brief forced smile came to her lips. "I was just hangry and sore. Sorry."

"Can I get you anything? Aspirin or something? Water?" _Please tell me how to make this better. Let me fix this. _

Bella shook her head slowly. "No, I've already taken some actually. I'm fine, really. I'm just... homesick now."

There was nothing I could do about that. I didn't want her to be homesick, but I didn't want her to leave either.

"Alright, I just wanted to check. Let me know if there is anything I could do at all to make you happy or comfortable. I just... I don't know. I'm sorry, I'm awkward. I have anxiety and sometimes, I think-," I didn't know where my rambling mouth was taking me, but it didn't matter. "You know, nevermind. You're obviously going to bed. I'll let you sleep."

"Okay... By the way, good job today," she called to me, these words and smile were a little warmer, but I could see the depression marked on her face.

"It's just a video game," I replied. Just a stupid silly little video game. I felt so embarrassed, suddenly feeling exactly like I did when I was a teenager. How immature must Bella have thought I was? Everything she had gone through and I was playing video games as if it mattered.

"No, it was a lot of cows and toys," she said, even lighter. Bella smiled again, this one unforced. I returned it, wanting her to not be sad, even if it was just a minute of relief.

"Yeah. Thanks... Goodnight," I answered before leaving her room. Leaning against the wall, I took in a deep breath.

With a sigh, I headed back out towards the pool. I knew I wasn't going to sleep that night.

**Thanks for reading! **


	8. Chapter 8

**Episode Eight-**

"I fucked up," I said as a way of greeting to Jasper. It was one in the morning, and I was smoking outside by the pool again. Of course I was. It was the evening there. He had just gotten off of work. He was just constantly working.

"Mm, and how exactly did you do that, darling?" He mumbled distracted as he obviously did something else. I heard his keys clatter into a bowl and then something tear like paper. He was checking his mail.

"I got a little tipsy at the charity thing, and I flirted with a girl."

"Bella?" He questioned.

"No, some random booth girl. I didn't really mean it. She was being flirty, and I was just talking out my ass the way I do. But I did it in front of Bella," I explained to him.

"And what happened?"

"She got mad. Bella, I mean. I think, anyway."

"How so?" He questioned. I heard the springs of his mattress coils as he plopped down on his bed. I could almost imagine exactly as he laid, playing with that stupid mustache of his. His ankles crossed as he stretched entirely out.

"I was talking, and one minute she's there, then she's gone. She went off on her own, and I found her in a dark hall, alone. She said she was just tired and hangry when I apologized."

"So, she likes you and is annoyed you were being friendly with another girl."

"Probably fucking not. Especially now."

"Stop being dramatic. She wouldn't act like that if she didn't like you, too," he sighed, a little annoyed with me. He was getting tired of my shit. So was I. I was being a fool.

"I don't know what to do," I admitted. "I really don't."

"Be a mature adult and tell her that you like her."

"It's not that fucking easy," I snapped.

"And why is that?"

"She's leaving in a day. She's… I'm serious, I think I'm actually in love with her. All jokes aside. Like, I want this woman. Seriously want her. I think I'm losing my goddamn mind. What is wrong with me?" I asked. "I want to just grab her and kiss her and yell that I want her in her face at the top of my lungs."

"I'm pretty sure she wouldn't mind that." I could hear the _click click click_ of his lighter as he lit his cigarette.

"That's not how this works," I informed him. "I'm pretty sure women frown upon being jumped by large men."

"Though, oddly enough, I don't feel like it would be a problem if she jumped you," he said with mild amusement.

"I fucking wish."

"You are a bloody celebrity, you stupid cunt. I swear. You're rich, smart, talented, sexy as fuck. Stop it. You're not some pathetic tubby fifteen-year-old anymore. Fucking man up and ask her out, moron," he snapped back at me.

"I'd love to go in there right now and just shake her awake. _Excuse me, Bella. I'm sorry to wake you. I'm madly in love with you. I've never met a woman as beautiful or as witty as you._ But, then you know, the screaming would start, and then I'd probably have a fun conversation with the police."

"Hardly," Jasper scoffed. "Though, I would suggest waiting until the morning."

"Have you watched any of that footage I sent you?" I asked, slightly changing the subject.

"I watched all the stuff from the tattoo shop last night again. Her ass when she bent over with no shirt on, in those blue jeans was just… mmm, chef's kiss," he made a smacking sound. He was trying to lighten the mood in his own unique way.

"Fuck, I know," I half laughed, half moaned. I rubbed the heel of my palm over my eyes. "I keep finding parts of her that I think are hot. Her eyes, her hair, her tits, her ass, her tattoos, her laugh, her thighs, her mouth. Damn, her lips. She's always biting them and touching her mouth with her tiny little fingers. And... I just-" I stopped myself. "I've never been like this before. What the actual fuck is wrong with me?"

"It's a crush, darling," he tried to say as if it was comforting.

"I've had crushes. This is different."

"When is the last time you got laid?"

I thought about telling him to shut up. Instead, I answered, "Victoria. You know that. About a week before we broke up. Look, I don't just want to fuck this girl. I mean, I want to fuck her, too. But she's just so easy to talk to, and she's so funny and fun. I don't feel like I have to be anyone else with her. It feels like… like I'm with you, honestly."

There was a short pause. "She really must be something, Tony." Sasha had said the same thing earlier in the week. Jasper had told her to piss off when she asked him for information, just like I thought he would.

"Yeah."

"Tell her how you feel," he said more seriously. "I really think she likes you, too. Go for it. She would be lucky to have you. You're the best person that I know."

I felt my cheeks heat. "Thanks. I mean it. You really are a good friend."

I spent half the night trying to get to sleep. I knew I had to be rested for the jump, but I couldn't get my mind to shut off. All I could do was think about her and Jasper's words. When I finally fell asleep, I got maybe three hours in total. It wasn't pleasant or peaceful either. When my alarm went off, I nearly threw it across the room.

I shuffled first into the bathroom, taking a quick shower and shaved. I leaned my head against the cold tile for a long time. It felt so good.

When I walked into the living room, the strong scent of coffee hit me right away. It smelled delicious and comforting. I dragged my feet to the bar, placing myself down in a stool with a thud. My eyes hurt a little. I placed my head in my hands and gently rubbed my temples as I tried to prepare myself for how awkward this day was going to be after the night before.

Bella stood on the other side of the bar from me. She was wearing tight blue jeans again with simple white sneakers. Her pretty black long sleeved blouse clung tightly to her body, her curly hair pulled back at the base of her neck. She looked lovely as always.

"Morning, sunshine. Do you want some breakfast?" She smiled at me sweetly, pleasantly. I looked up at her slowly in confusion and realized that she was offering me some of her coffee. She had already prepared it exactly the way I liked it, too. I instantly took it from her and quickly drank it back gratefully.

"No. Just more coffee. I can't eat when I first wake up," I replied as I pushed the cup towards her for a refill. She did it with a slightly sweet smile, making it up again quickly. It was delicious. I drank the second cup as fast as the first. She made me another wordlessly. She probably should have gotten me the bigger mug and saved herself some trouble. "Thanks."

Bella seemed amused. "Is it good?"

"Very. Best coffee I've had since home," I told her honestly.

She then swiftly brought up her camera and took several photos of me tiredly drinking down her fantastic coffee. Her expression was cute and playful, her gorgeous eyes glittering. I realized that her foul mood from the evening before might have been forgotten. Perhaps she really was just hungry and tired.

I decided stupidly was the best way to react. I looked up slowly and arched my eyebrow at her. Her smirk grew, and with a little bit of challenge in her eyes, she took a couple more pictures. Since she seemed to like it, I decided to take it further. I touched the tip of my nose with my tongue, something I always did to amuse my nieces.

Bella pursed her lips and without missing a beat took three more pictures.

"Impressive," she said teasingly, playfully leaning forward as if she was going to touch me. Without thinking about it, I leapt forward to foolishly snap at her fingers. Her reaction was better than I could have imagined. She pulled her hand away with an adorable giggle. I snapped my teeth and growled like an idiot. "Cranky."

"I need more coffee to be less bitey," I told her with a smirk.

"Even after having your third? Well, I'll start another pot," she replied, and without having to be asked, she began to prepare more coffee for me. I actually felt a little touched. Bella was so considerate.

Seth, Tyler, and Zafrina all arrived at once. The boy always carpooled. My manager only lived a couple of blocks away.

"It smells fucking great in here," Seth said as he put down his bag of equipment on the couch.

Bella looked like she fit perfectly in my kitchen, busily working away in it like she already owned it.

"I'm making some fresh coffee now."

"Great," Tyler smiled as he put his stuff down as well. He went into the kitchen to find a mug in the cabinet for his drink. The boys liked her coffee as much as I did.

My manager looked at me with questioning eyes. My head was leaned against my hand, still trying to will the pain away from my insomnia and liquor induced headache. I cleared my throat and gave her a smile to show her that I was fine.

"Zafrina, this is Bella. She's the photographer. Bella, this Zafrina, my manager. She only shows up when I do really dumb shit where I might die," I explained to the pretty girl across from me. The two women couldn't have looked more different, though they were both very attractive.

Zafrina brushed her long black hair over the shoulder of her tacky animal print blouse, smiling as she reached over to shake Bella's tiny hand. "Great to meet you. I'm glad I could talk him into it. It was a battle. Is he behaving for you?"

I felt myself flush again. I hid my face in my mug.

"Not at all," Bella laughed, her smile still playful. "He just tried to bite me."

"Yeah, sounds about right. Alright." Zafrina narrowed her eyes on me for a moment. She was at least pleased that I wasn't being an asshole to the girl. I was sure I would get questions about it later. But, she was always a business first kind of woman. "We need to head out in the next fifteen minutes so we can make it out to the school by eleven. First, we're going to do a few videos. A few pictures. Then the skydive is at one. After the jump, you're going to head back and do another couple videos and even more pictures. Then there is the after party tonight at Shade. You need to be there at least three hours."

"Yeah. Got it. Let me get more coffee first. It's almost done," I said, rubbing my forehead as I thought about the party I didn't really want to go to. I wondered if I could get out of it. The only way I was going to enjoy it is if I was with _her_. The words slipped out before I could stop them, "Bella, would you like to come with me to the after party?"

"No press," Zafrina interjected with the information I already knew. "No Cameras allowed inside. It's private."

"Off the clock. As my plus one," I answered, trying to act as if I wasn't freaking out inside. I focused on my coffee. I couldn't look at her, I was so nervous. After a second, I realized she hadn't said anything. I looked up to see her curious eyes watching me. "Please?" I added politely.

She bit her lip for just a moment, her cheeks slightly pink. "Um, sure. Sounds fun."

My manager rolled her eyes at me a little. "Alright, I'll let them know. I'm going to go to the bathroom and head out. Get out the door in fifteen. Nice to meet you," she told Bella before turning to us. "See you boys there."

I was too tired to drive. I was terrible at early mornings. Seth took my keys, Tyler calling shotgun like I wasn't going to sit in the backseat with Bella. I couldn't stop myself from yawning as I continued to nurse another coffee. My stomach was going to hate me later.

"Why am I more nervous than you are about jumping out of a damn plane?" Bella blurted out. In surprise, I turned to look at her so I could answer. She quickly snapped a photo.

"I've done it before. Four times, in fact."

"So?" She actually laughed. "You don't even seem excited."

"I am. I'm just not awake yet," I lied. I wanted to go back to sleep, not jump out of a plane. Or, maybe just spend the day with her. In bed. "Mornings give me a headache," I told her more truthfully.

"He'll perk up when we get there." Tyler turned back to look at us. "So, Bella, your week in California is almost up. What do you think of it?"

"I think it has nice weather. I think it would be fun to take pictures here for a little while." Bella took Tyler's picture with a little smile that he was happy to return. He liked her. So did Seth. They all got along so well. "I've met nothing but nice people since being here."

"Too bad you didn't get any free time to do anything fun while you were here. Tourist kind of shit. I don't know if you're into that kind of thing," Seth chimed in. "You didn't like the bridge."

"Oh, for sure. I love museums. Zoos. I really want to go to the Los Angeles zoo," she answered him a bit wistfully. She bit her lip again for a moment before slowly releasing it.

"You like zoos?" Seth asked, dimly.

She brushed her hair over her shoulder, tilting her head a little to the side as she gave him a thoughtful reply, "I love going to the zoo. I used to get memberships so I could go all the time. It's a great way to waste a Saturday outside in nature. It's good therapy. And I like taking pictures of animals for my collection. It's always different and good practice. I don't know what else I'd want to do. I didn't really research that sort of thing before I came."

"What about going to the beach?" Tyler asked. "That's always popular."

Bella had a nostalgic sort of smile on her face."I lived in New Jersey for a while, when I was really young and in school. It was cheaper than in New York. Anyway, we lived on the beach. The Atlantic was literally our backyard. So… I've seen a sandy beach. Though it would be nice to watch the sunset on the beach on a different coast. Sunsets are always my favorite. Even if I have a million pictures of them that all look practically the same."

The idea of this gorgeous woman beside me on the beach gave me so many dirty thoughts. I pushed them away quickly. I instead thought of one of my favorite places in the world and how wonderful it would be to take her there. "I should take you to the Gold Coast. It's so beautiful. The sunsets cannot be beaten. I used to go surfing there all the time."

"That sounds so braggy," Tyler teased me loudly. "Look at me. I'm good looking, AND I surf."

He was right. It did sound a bit boastful, though it wasn't on purpose. Bella looked amused. She obviously thought he was funny. I decided since stupid went so well at the house I would go for it again.

"And, I'm fucking rich, too," I began jokingly in boredom. I looked over at Bella and lowered my sunglasses. I tried to be smooth and wink at her, but my eyes literally didn't want to do what I wanted them to. My right eye stuck for a moment and I just failed miserably. "Nope, too early."

Bella scoffed at it but still smiled at me.

They continued to talk, but my head hurt too much to try to have a conversation. Instead, I began to daydream about how I wanted to spend the next day with her. We could go to the zoo and to the beach. Perhaps take her out to a nice meal or two. It honestly sounded like the perfect date. It was nothing more than a fantasy, though. I fell asleep somehow, getting a thirty-minute nap.

When we got the flight school, I had to put on my actor's mask. I quickly took the jumpsuit that was specially made for me with my name on it and put it on. It fit very tightly, but it wasn't uncomfortable. I tried to convince myself I looked cool when I looked in the mirror.

The way Bella looked at me when I walked from the bathroom into the large open hangar actually made me feel warm and a little embarrassed. She quickly took my picture, her bottom lip in her teeth as she concentrated so hard on me. I could have sworn she was blushing too. I wondered if she enjoyed looking at me as much as I enjoyed looking at her. I didn't see how it was even possible. I didn't have time to dwell on it because I was pushed outside to read some quick lines for commercials.

As time passed, I became more and more anxious. I found it impossible to sit still, even as Bella tried to distract me with random chatting. Poor Tyler and Seth got so annoyed with it that they decided to go outside for some aerial shots for post-production. Bella kept me company though, as we sat in the large room. We were almost alone.

"So, who else is jumping?"

I stood beside Bella, looking down at her as I kept fidgeting with my outfit and glasses. "Daniel. The guy who is already here. He does the main villain in the game. Johnny Lang. He's a pro player who specialized in the first two games. Really good. And Database."

"The DJ?"

"Yeah. He does the soundtrack. They're going all out for this thing," I answered. Bella brought up her camera and took a picture, surprising me. We were so close. I could smell her vanilla perfume and the coffee we shared still. "Wanna jump with us?" I asked her curiously. She was such a free spirit. I could see her enjoying it.

She made an annoyed face, as if I was being stupid. "No. That's some white people nonsense."

I laughed in shock, "but you're white, too." She had said she had a white mother after all.

Bella rolled her pretty eyes at me, shaking her head. "I'm half white, at least. I'm white passing. Maybe. I don't know what I am exactly, but someone with melanin and more good sense in my head is telling me you're so safe and _white_ you have to find new and interesting ways to kill yourself. No. I'm good on the ground. Taking the subway is enough of a risk for me."

"How risky is the subway?" I wondered briefly if I offended her, but it didn't seem that way. She was being playful.

"Oh, my sweet summer child." She reached forward and touched my cheek with her soft hands. It felt like fire. "I've seen two stabbings and I still think the worst thing about the trains are the random Mariachi bands," she teased in a thick accent.

"Mariachi bands?" Seth said from behind us as they came from outside.

Tyler answered, "oh, my god! They're the worst. Why would anyone bring a trumpet on a subway car? And there always has to be that sarcastic asshole with a guitar."

"You know you have to get a permit to do that?" Bella shook her head dramatically, then looked at him knowingly. "They're allowing us to be tortured. I have a theory; it's a way to make fewer people use public transit."

Tyler nodded. "Sounds about right." He always loved a good stupid conspiracy theory.

"So, when I go to New York I need to be vigilant of rogue mariachi bands as well as stabbings on the subway?" I smirked at their silly conversation.

"Watch for the monks, too," she deadpanned perfectly. "And, those weird people in costumes in Times Square. Dressed up like Spiderman and Spongebob. They're usually drunk," she said it so seriously that I wasn't sure if she was screwing with me or not. I raised my eyebrow in question, and she just shrugged. "It's fine. Crime is way down since I first got there. New York is super safe now."

I couldn't relax or sit down. I talked to Daniel about the bad weather they were predicting for the following week. Monday there was supposed to be terrible storms in the afternoon. I was rather glad about it. I knew it would match my mood perfectly. I was going to be a sulking asshole. It was probably for the best that I was going to spend Monday alone, editing.

Daniel was fine, if not a bit boring. At least not interesting enough to keep me from my anxiety. Between thinking about the actual jump itself and Bella, I was too uneasy to relax. I picked up the basketball first and decided to attempt to shoot hoops in the hopes of keeping myself calm.

I had met Johnny Lang before in passing. He was a nice enough guy. Friendly and a little bit cocky. I didn't realize he was speaking to Bella until I heard my name.

"Well, isn't _Edward_ a lucky ducky," he said sarcastically, glancing over at me.

Bella looked flustered, shaking her head in response. "I'm sure he's ready to be rid of me."

I'm not sure how she could think that. I was having so much fun being around her. I hoped she didn't want to be rid of me.

"Of a pretty thing like you? Doubt it," he replied. Before I realized what I was doing, I passed him the ball a little bit too hard. He didn't seem to notice, though. He simply caught it and made a shot. I accidentally made him look cooler rather than distract him from flirting with the captivating woman I had feelings for.

Annoyed with myself, I gave up on the game and went back over to Bella. If he was going to flirt with her, at least I could see how she reacted to it. Or, maybe protect her if she needed it.

"So, I'm not one to be superstition, but what would it take to get a kiss for good luck?" Johnny asked her with a big grin. He glanced over at me for half a second.

"You better hope you don't need no damn kisses for luck." Bella looked totally unimpressed with him. She got up quickly from her stool and began to toy with her camera so she wouldn't have to look at him. It made me feel slightly better.

The idiot leaned his head from one side to the other. He pursed his lips before he answered her in his best charming English tone, "there is no harm in having an extra bit of luck. You never know when you might need it."

She shook her head. "How are kisses lucky, exactly?"

"How is a kiss from a gorgeous woman not lucky?"

Bella rolled her eyes, but I could practically see the wheels turning in her head. Quickly, she pressed a chaste kiss on his cheek. He seemed just as shocked as I felt. Luckily, he couldn't ask for anything else because he was called away. He actually winked at Bella. She looked unimpressed again.

Something in me snapped.

"Hey! Wait! That's not fair. I want a kiss for luck!"

Bella slowly turned to gaze at me after I spoke. She had a funny little smirk on her face as she was obviously looking me over. She considered something for just a moment. She was equally unimpressed with me.

"Ugh, fine." She took my hand from my lap and playfully kissed it. Bella was grinning wickedly as she did. She was purposefully teasing me. All I wanted to do at that moment was haul off and punch Johnny and then grab her up in my arms and kiss her like I really wanted to. Like she deserved to be kissed.

"But, he got one on the cheek!" The words fell from my lips like a whiny child. I had too little sleep to hold it back.

"And, he insinuated I was gorgeous. Flattery works for me," Bella said sarcastically. She had taken her hair down and was wearing her hairband on her wrist. She flipped her long black curls over her thin shoulder, acting up for Seth. He was chuckling at her. I felt a little ganged on up, too tired to deal with it. Everything I had been thinking about in the past few days came bubbling up to the surface, and my mouth fully took over.

"Ugh, you're being mean to me on purpose. Well! Any fool with eyes can see that you are gorgeous! But, he hasn't been lucky enough to spend this week with you and learned that you are more than just beautiful. You are smart, funny, patient, and kind. You are talented and sharp and generous. If I were lucky enough to receive a kiss from you, even just on the cheek, I would wear it forever like a badge of honor knowing a woman as good as yourself felt I deserved it!"

My mouth's monologues were getting more outlandish by the day. It felt like my heart stopped as soon as the words finished coming out. Bella stood in front of me with wide, surprised eyes. Her mouth was opened slightly as she drew in a slow breath. Her cheeks heated a dark pink, even her pretty nose was red.

She closed the distance between us, her eyes looking down into mine. "Alright there, cowboy." She placed her tiny hands on either of my shoulders before she slowly leaned down. "That's enough of that." Bella pressed her lips to my forehead, and my heart started again violently. They were soft, and her scent filled my nose completely. I wanted to grab her then and smash my mouth to hers. I willed my hands back into my lap, closing my eyes as I savored the contact.

"Thank you."

"You're so dramatic. Don't put that in the video," she told me playfully as she pointed to me and then to the camera Seth was holding.

I was over the goddamn moon. Jumping out of an airplane was going to be the least exciting part of my day.

"Okay," I promised, almost giddy. Whatever she wanted.

"Heading out in two," someone shouted.

Database chose that moment to show up. Everyone was, of course, interested in him. They ran off toward him, excitedly. I couldn't have given two fucks. I was too focused on the woman in front of me. I couldn't take my eyes off of her. Bella glanced over her shoulder then back at me. Our eyes locked, and I realized she was breathing just as I was, our chests rising and falling at the same time.

I wanted to say something to her then. I wanted to tell her that I liked her. I wanted her. I couldn't say anything though, because Bella placed her hands on either one of my shoulders and kissed me on the lips.

She tasted of coffee and _Bella_. The delicious scent that filled my nose was better tasting than I could have ever imagined. She held it for a long second. I wanted to wrap my fingers in her luscious hair and hold her in place against my mouth. I never wanted to let go. Too quickly, she pulled away.

"Come back in one piece, white boy," she whispered.

_Yes yes yes yes, _my brain screamed in joy over and over again.

"I will," I promised. No way I wasn't going to land safely if I knew she was waiting for me on the other side. I realized I needed to get up and go, but I found it hard. When I stood, she gazed up into my eyes, her head almost entirely tilted back. We were so close. I found myself touching her arms as we looked at each other. I had to force myself to let go.

All I could think about the entire drive to the plane was the kiss.

"Hey," Johnny called to me once we were on board. "Did I step on any toes in there?"

"Yes," I told him honestly in a clipped tone. He nodded his head and smirked a little.

"So, I guess I shouldn't ask for her number once we land then?" He asked. Christ, I hated that question even more than when Seth asked it.

"You could, but it makes me think about throwing you out of this plane without your parachute," I replied evenly. He laughed. At least he thought it was funny. "It's not like I have a claim on her, though."

"You'd like to, though."

"It's not like that," I said quickly.

"Mm, it's a little like that," he commented then rolled his eyes. "Don't worry. I won't. She's obviously into you, anyway."

"I hope so," I said quietly. I cleared my throat.

Finally, I began to focus on the fact that I was about to jump out of a plane. I wasn't scared. I knew what to do. And it went perfectly.

The wind felt incredible as I plunged to the earth. I couldn't hear myself screaming though I knew I was. It wasn't a fearful cry but one of pure joy. It was turning out to be a fantastic day. And it was only going to get better because I was going to get to spend it with Bella. An evening sans cameras. After she kissed me.

The amount of adrenaline rushing through my body was insane. Every part of me was vibrating. I couldn't stop laughing and talking. Bella watched me with a happy expression. She complained that it scared her and that she was worried for me. If she knew how I was feeling, she wouldn't be.

I practically rushed up to my office after Bella snuck away to her room for a shower. It was morning in Sydney, and I knew Jasper would be awake for work already.

There was a message waiting for me. "_Did you die?"_

_"No, lol. It went amazingly. Actually went better than amazing. It went perfect. I'll send you the footage later." _

"_That's great! Glad you're alive, darling,"_ he texted back. I smiled to myself.

"_Bella kissed me."_

"_Where?"_

"_She kissed my hand, then my forehead, and my lips."_

"_I didn't mean where on your body. I meant where did she kiss you as in the location you were in when the kiss happened,"_ he replied back quickly. "_Stupid wanker." _

I actually laughed out loud_. "Oh. Right lol. At the flight school before the jump. She kissed me for luck, and I have it on film. And tonight she's going to go to the afterparty with me. Without her camera." _

"_See, I told you she liked you." _

I grinned widely to myself. Once again, I hoped to God he was right.

**This goes with Chapter 9 of Imperfect Pictures. **

**Thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine-**

I had never been good at dating. I was too anxious. I had been on dozens of first dates in college but they never went anywhere. Once I got to LA I thought it would different. I had broken up with Vicky and I was away from my mother. I thought I could relax and be myself. I had gone on a single date in the time I had been in America though. I couldn't even remember her name. I had gotten offers but none of them interested me.

I was out of my mind with nerves. I hadn't been excited about the party before the morning. But, now that Bella had agreed to go with me, everything was different. I showered and shaved with more attention to detail than I might have had before. I actually tried to fix my hair, though I wasn't sure what good it did me.

When the car arrived I knocked on her bedroom door to let her know it was time to go. I felt like my heart was in my throat while I waited for her to open it.

Now, of course, when I bought her that stupidly cheap little dress I imagined what it would look like on her. I wanted her to wear it for me after all. But I was not prepared for how beautiful she looked in it. I was actually speechless. The dark black dress went to her knees, sleeveless to show off her thin arms with a high lace collar around her deliciously slender throat. Her gorgeous curly black hair was wild around her face, framing it beautifully. Her large blue and brown eyes looked up at me in almost surprise, taking me in.

"Are you ready?" I asked her after finally clearing my throat.

She licked her bottom lip lightly before letting out a soft breath. "Yeah, I am."

We walked beside each other silently to the car. I held the door open for her so I could watch her slide inside. I could smell her amazing scent as she moved past me. I had never smelled anything so good in my life. I wasn't sure how she did it. I wanted to bury my face in her hair and breath her in all night.

Bella looked utterly terrified, though, pressed up against the door. Her arms were crossed over her stomach. She pulled out her phone to use for light and she tried to swipe her lipstick across her plush lips. Her makeup was very simple and light. She was naturally gorgeous and it just made her even more beautiful. But she seemed so unsure.

"You look really nice. That dress is very pretty and the colors look really good on you," I blurted out, my mouth taking over before my brain could think of something better to try and reassure her. I cleared my throat quickly, embarrassed with myself. I had to be honest with her though. "It makes me really happy that you agreed to come. I don't think I would have any fun knowing you weren't."

"Thank you..." Bella looked over at me, brushing some of her hair out of her face self consciously. I could see her swallow even in the darkness before she spoke, "it would have been okay, by the way. I'd understand if you wanted to get rid of me for a few hours. I've been in your space for almost a week now."

_Is she insane?_ Of course not. I turned towards her quickly. "No, I don't want to get rid of you at _all._ I have really enjoyed having you around the past week."

Bella looked so flustered. "You just like my cooking."

Couldn't she see how I felt about her? Did she like me, too? Or, did I just want her to like me? Did she need time away from me? I hated that I couldn't tell. "No. I mean... yeah. Of course, I do... I really like your cooking but that not why."

Quiet hung in the air for a long time. She looked so sad for a minute. "You _must_ be ready to have my camera out of your face all the time."

"I don't know if you have noticed, but it's kinda my thing."

The car came to a slow stop at a red light, the golden light of the street lamp spilling over us. Her eyes were so intently locked on mine. I wanted to grab her up again and kiss her like I had wanted to so many times in the previous week. When the car started moving again she quickly looked away. We didn't speak again until we reached the club.

I had to change this. I had to change her sad mood. I wanted her to laugh and smile again. I wanted our banter again. Bella thought it was funny when I was being dumb. I could do that. I put on my stupidest grin.

"So, you're going to have to pretend to be my date to get in."

It worked perfectly and she laughed sweetly, "oh, do I? Really?"

I felt pleased with myself, quickly adjusting my tie to ham it up more. "Oh yes, it's on a list. Edward Cullen and his _date_. Zafrina said so. Don't worry, it'll be real easy. I'll be a perfect gentleman."

I quickly rushed over to her side of the car before the driver could open her door, taking a quick calming breath. I put my smile back in place before popping it open.

"I hope you don't think you're going to get anything else out of me that easily," she said in a teasing voice, taking my offered hand as she stood.

Oh yes, this was better already.

"One can dream," I replied as she took my arm.

It was time to slip my mask on for the rest of the evening. I held my chin up some and put on my confident grin as soon as they began to call my name. A million flashes went off at once. Bella never once looked in their direction as they chanted my name and demanded to know who she was. Of course, they would want to know who the pretty little thing on my arm was. I wasn't in the mood to stop for questions though.

I didn't care about clubs or parties. I had already had my fill of them in my short time in Hollywood. They all were the same to me. The lights, the music, the smell. I focused instead on Bella's arm wrapped around my own and the way the purple and blue lights fell over her skin.

The private area was gaudy with big plush velvet couches but there was at least champagne waiting for us. Liquor was exactly what we needed to help along the night, I rashly decided. Jasper always said I never relaxed. I wanted to be relaxed with her. I didn't want to scare her off. I just wanted us both to have a good time. I decided to ignore the previous evening with the rationale that she just needed a drink too.

I quickly poured myself a glass and one for her as well. "You're off the clock." I passed her the flute. I realized suddenly how close we were to one another. Her face was inches away from mine. I had to distract myself from her lips.

"A toast to landing safely."

We clinked glasses. She smirked a little bit before taking a sip. She obviously enjoyed it, even if she still seemed a little nervous and sad for some reason. I stretched my arm out behind her head on the back of the couch, trying to act casually. We kept stealing glances at one another.

Why couldn't I just reach over and kiss her? Why was I so scared? _Maybe because she is it and I am only going to get one good shot?_ I kept downing my flute like an idiot and refilling it. Whenever Bella's emptied I would fill it for her, but she was drinking much more slowly.

I was being a dumbass for not trying to have a conversation with her. I was wasting precious time.

"So, do you think you got the pictures you needed?" My mouth decided to ask.

"I hope so. I think they're great. Some are really beautiful. I'm proud of them. I've been editing every night before I go to sleep. And, every morning when I get up too." We had so much in common. Editing was normally how I spent most of my evenings and mornings before she came.

"That's great! I knew when I first saw you... you were the perfect one for me. Your work, I mean," I blurted out.

I was either already drunk or not drunk enough. I decided the latter and downed my drink quickly before pouring myself another. Luckily Daniel chose that second to show up. I was so grateful that I hopped up to my feet.

"Daniel, you remember Bella from earlier," I said quickly, smiling awkwardly. I really needed to work on my acting skills.

"You didn't bring your camera!" Daniel said to Bella when he sat back in one of the big red ugly chairs. His eyes were going over her, smiling at her appearance.

"No photography allowed," Bella replied smoothly, flicking one her tiny fingers towards the dancefloor filled with people.

All I wanted to do at that moment was to dance with her. I wasn't sure if I had the courage for it yet. Luckily there was more champagne already on the table.

"Have you ever been to anything like this before?" Daniel asked Bella conversationally. I liked him well enough. He was good at his job and mostly professional. I didn't know anything about his personal life. He didn't come with a date.

Bella actually scoffed before she laughed, "an after party for a skydive to promote a video game? No. The New York club scene is better but I haven't been in a while. I've been working."

So, she liked going out. That was interesting. Bella had made jokes about drinking in her past. She didn't seem like the hard partier type though. I could believe that she had been working too much to go out though. She was a hard worker, obviously.

"What's better about the New York clubs?" Daniel asked her as he leaned over, his eyes going over her again. I honestly wanted to claw them out of his head.

"Oh. Well. They're in New York. Obviously."

She said it was such dry boredom that I actually had to stop myself from laughing out loud. I tried to hide it by turning my face away and scratching my cheek. Daniel was obviously not used to women being so unimpressed with him. Most women were falling all over themselves to impress celebrities, even minor ones. She obviously couldn't care less. His mouth opened and closed a couple of times.

Daniel then ordered himself a whiskey.

"So, that was one hell of a jump," he said to me, deciding it was time to ignore Bella. She wasn't easy prey.

"Yeah, it was amazing. The weather was perfect for it," I replied.

"Right." He grinned. "I was checking the weather earlier and they're really talking up this storm on Monday."

I rolled my eyes. "They've done that a few times but it's not appeared yet. I'll believe it when I see it. Seriously. It'll probably be nothing more than a little rain again. If even that."

"I don't know. They're pretty sure." He finished his Jack and ordered another. I poured Bella another glass of champagne and realized she was definitely zoned out of the conversation. She couldn't have cared less if she tried. Her eyes were drifting off somewhere in the distance. When she realized I was pouring her another she gave me a little smile. I couldn't blame her in the least. I found it boring too.

"I hope it rains," I told him honestly. "I'm in the mood for a good storm."

More and more people that I worked with came trickling in. Bella smiled at them politely but she seemed a little distracted. All I could think about was dancing with her, even as I tried to hold up conversations with other people. I just kept drinking, trying to hold my mask in the place for just a little while longer.

When there was a lull in the conversation around us I looked back at Bella. She was biting her bottom lip as she swirled her drink her glass absently. I couldn't resist her a second longer, the liquor finally giving me the courage I needed.

"Would you like to dance with me?" I leaned into her ear so she could hear me over the very loud music. Bella turned to look at me with wide eyes. They looked into mine before glancing down at my mouth. I wondered if she thought about leaning in and kissing me, just like I wanted to kiss her. Or was I imagining it? "Please?" I wasn't sure what I was asking for. Another kiss or a dance.

Bella slowly nodded her head, making her thick beautiful hair bounce.

Before I knew what I was doing I was moving us towards the floor. I was so stupidly drunk at that point. It hit me so hard. Her hand felt like fire in mine. I felt _so_ hot.

I didn't know the song that was playing. I didn't even really hear it. Bella pressed herself against me, her hands on my chest as she moved to the beat. I moved with her, putting my hands on her curvy hips. Her eyes were gorgeous, shining up into mine. Her lips were slightly spread as she let out a slow breath. She began to blush and quickly turned so that her back was against my chest. I couldn't stop myself from touching her. Her skin was delicate and soft as was her hair. I brushed it off her shoulder just so I could touch it again. When I brought my hand to her stomach I pulled her as close as I dared to my body and she brought her hand to mine. I twisted my fingers into her own and she didn't pull away.

Bella was an amazing dancer, her hips swirling against me in a way that was nearly indecent in front of people. She looked over her shoulder at me seductively, her eyes glancing at my mouth again. I couldn't help but smile down at her. She returned it slowly.

I don't know how many songs we danced to. Everything felt so intense. My heart was beating wildly in my chest. I was so turned on by her. The way she would raise her arms above her head and swing her hips was beyond erotic.

After a long time, Bella brought her hand up to my hair, slowly pulling me down so that she could press her lips against my ear and whisper, "I need some water and air."

Suddenly, I very much needed it, too.

"Yeah." I took her hand and began to lead her back up to the VIP area. My bodyguard for the evening caught up as we walked up the stairs.

"Is there a private place we can get some air?" I asked him in a whisper so Bella wouldn't hear me.

"Door to the left," he pointed it out to me. I smiled at him gratefully before grabbing up a couple of bottles of water. I pushed us through the crowd to the door, opening it for her so we could walk into the cool almost fall air.

Bella walked ahead of me, the LA skyline all around of us. She rubbed her hands over her arms as goosebumps began to form on her skin. I rushed to take off my jacket and wrap it around her. She pulled it close to her as she quickly walked towards a stone bench by the edge of the roof ledge. She sat down and took a drink. She looked as drunk as I felt.

I sat down beside her but I couldn't look at her. I knew this was my moment. This was when I was going to get to tell her. She was leaving on Monday. We only had one day together after that night. I was terrified.

"You know. I've been thinking... It wouldn't be terrible to hire a professional photographer for the channel."

And I thought to offer her a job was the way to do that. _Great. Yes. Exactly what I needed to do. That is exactly how you get the girl, Tony. Good job._ Fuck Seth for putting the words in my head and fuck my mouth for spitting them out like a drunken coward.

"Yeah?"

Well, it's not like I could stop. "Yeah. You've been super helpful this week. I learned a lot."

"That's good." I knew she was looking at me. I couldn't look back.

I swallowed heavily. "I don't suppose you'd be interested?"

"Eddie, I live across the country."

"Yeah. I know. Well. It was worth a shot."

And there it was. She was absolutely right, of course. We were worlds apart. I wanted to grab her and tell that it didn't matter. I would do anything for a chance with her. But I was too much of a bitch for that. She was beautiful and talented and I felt totally unworthy of her.

I suddenly wanted to cry. I had definitely drunk too much. I was always a drunk crier. What was I thinking?

"If I lived here, I'd say yes in a heartbeat." She tried to let me down gently. I think. I just knew then that I was just projecting my feelings onto her. My heart sank.

"I don't want tomorrow to be the last day I see you," I blurted out. "I've grown rather fond of you, Bella."

"I'm fond of you as well. But... It's not like you don't have my number now. We are friends now, right?" She tried to say gently. Yeah, she was letting me down easy. She was a sweet woman and she didn't want to hurt my feelings. I would be lucky to just be her friend.

I smiled and nodded as I swallowed back my tears. "We are. That is true." I finished my drink quickly. I knew if we were on that roof a second longer I would do something stupid. Like jump off of it. "Let's go get more to liquor. I need a beer."

"Then would you like to dance again?" She asked softly when I stood. Her eyes looked up into mine and I felt confused all over again. But, I didn't want to think about it anymore. I didn't want things to be complicated anymore. I just wanted to dance with her some more. I smiled at her and offered her my hand to help her stand. Bella took it slowly, smiling at me as her delicate fingers slipping into my palm.

"Yes, please."

**Eddie needs to stop drinking when he's nervous. It doesn't work with him. **

**Just to let you know, this chapter goes with chapter 10 of Imperfect pictures. Chapter 8 of this goes with chapter 9. Chapter 7 goes with 8. Etc and it works backward like that, just so you know. I'll let you know when that changes. From now on I will try to remember to put it on there. I meant to. Whoops. **

**Please let me know if you're enjoying this story! I'm having so much fun working on it! **

**Thanks for reading!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten-**

I was still very drunk when I sat down by my pool with a joint and another beer after the party because _fuck it_. I was in no mood for a text conversation. I quickly dialed Jasper's number. I knew he would be awake.

He answered on the second ring. It was like three in the morning in LA but evening in Sydney.

"Well, it either went very well or terribly," he said instead of hello.

"I fucked up again," I bemoaned, taking a long hit. "I asked her if she wanted a job."

He laughed, "what? Why?"

"Because, I fucking panicked and I'm drunk," I whined, rubbing my forehead. "She said no."

"And, did she give you a reason to why she said no?" He asked quietly.

"Because she lives in New York, obviously. Of course. She said she'd say yes otherwise."

"I bet that was an awkward end to the evening," he mumbled.

"Actually, that wasn't the end of the night. We actually danced, a lot."

"So, you offered this girl a job drunkenly, she tells you no but she would if she lived closer, and then you two dance all night? Dumbass, just tell her you like her. What the fuck is wrong with you? She doesn't want you to be her boss. She wants you to be her _daddy_."

I ignored him. "She's right though. She lives across the goddamn country, Jasper! I'm busy. I have work. She has to work. And she obviously just wants to be friends."

"How is that obvious? From what I'm hearing it's not. From what I've seen in the footage, it's not."

I took another hit. "She said that we were friends now."

"When you offered her a job?"

"Yeah."

"Let me repeat that. When you offered her a job that she said would say yes to if she lived in LA. She then told you that you two were friends."

"Yeah. She said "_Well, you have my phone number. We're friends now'_."

He laughed at my terrible southern accent. "Okay. And what did she say this in response to exactly?"

"I told her that I didn't want tomorrow to be the last day that I see her."

"You are a dumbass. That means she wants you to use that phone to call her when all of this is done. So, you know, you can be really good _friends_." I could almost see his stupid eyebrow wiggle. I laughed despite myself, leaning my head back against the cushions.

"I don't think so," I sighed.

"I've been watching more of the footage from the charity thing. The jump, too. She's so into you. She's just... _scared_. You're kind of a big deal. I get it. So… just... Grow a pair and seduce her. You're hot. You're young. You're rich. Show her a good time. If you can't do it, no one can. What do you have planned tomorrow?"

"Nothing. But… She literally doesn't care about any of those things."

"Then what does she care about?" He questioned me. "Surely you've been paying attention."

"Uh, I don't know. It's not like we've got to talk about that kind of stuff a lot. I mean, she's really passionate about her friends and her charity stuff," I concluded, searching my brain for all the conversations we had together.

"Okay, but what does she like to do for fun? Have you asked her?"

"Actually, I really think taking pictures is what she does for fun. She always looks so happy when she's doing it. She takes trips with her roommate to take pictures together."

"Well," he cleared his throat a little. "I mean, it's LA. There have to be a million great places to take pictures there. What do you think she'd like to do? What kind of pictures would she like to take?"

"She… She actually said earlier that she really likes to go to the zoo to take pictures. And, at the beach. Especially at sunset because those are her favorite, even if she has a ton of them and they all look the same," I grinned to myself as I thought about it. It was like all my stock footage that I had. I took another swig of my beer. "I was kind of thinking that it sounds like the perfect date, actually."

"Yeah, it does," Jasper agreed quickly. "I mean, throw some food in there, too."

"Oh, yeah. Yeah, for sure," I laughed quietly. "You know me. I already thought that, too. She's actually really into food. And, I find it stupidly hot for some reason. I like watching her eat. And, she really likes champagne, too," I chuckled. "I think we went through four bottles worth tonight."

"So, take her to brunch. It's Sunday, right?. Fill her with mimosas, walk around the zoo, flirt, take her to the beach. Have a romantic stroll on the sand. Be a man and tell her _directly_ how you feel about her. Stop dancing around. Go back to your place and shag. Because Tony, darling, you need it."

I laughed loudly, "is it that easy?"

"Is it not?" He questioned. "Look, you're controlling this show. Make tomorrow perfect for her. Sweep her off her feet."

"Sweep her off her feet?" I took another hit.

"Yes. You are Eddie _fucking_ Cullen. You are talented, smart, and charming. You know how to pretend to talk to women, now actually use those skills to talk to the fucking woman you claim to be in love with now. If she's worth it, you'll do it."

"She's worth it," I whispered.

"Then go for it!" He nearly shouted into the phone. "Honestly. Have you never successfully asked a woman out?"

"I asked Courtney out but we were like seventeen and I literally asked her in a handwritten note. And Vicky and I were set up by our mothers. I mean, I've asked women to dinner but it never ended up being more than a meal and it's literally been five years. Victoria and I were together for four years and I haven't been out with anyone since then."

"You're seriously overthinking this."

"Are you surprised?"

"No," he laughed.

"I just don't want to miss this chance with her and I don't want to screw it up. And what if I come off as some creepy ass Hollywood type? I don't want to come off like Weinstein here."

"Well, ask her out while _not_ wearing a robe. Try it fully dressed and let her decide when she wants to touch your penis," Jasper said sarcastically.

"Okay. Yes, obviously."

"You're such a prude," he mumbled. "I'm surprised you even danced with her."

"Hey!" I snapped at him. "I even asked her. You'd be proud. Even if it was after two bottles of that champagne that I was telling you about. She is an incredible dancer, by the way. I have never danced like that with a woman before."

"This crush is really cute, Tony," he chuckled.

"No, seriously. Her hips- The way they… Oh, my god. And, her ass," I stuttered off. "_Mm_. Her ass. She kept rubbing it on me and I swear to God… If she asked me to fuck her in the middle of the dance floor I would have right then."

He laughed loudly. "You poor bastard."

"I've not wanked this much since I was a teenager," I told him drunkenly. I snubbed out my joint. I had enough for the night. My beer was empty anyway.

"Don't hurt yourself, darling. Remember to use proper lubricates," Jasper said sarcastically.

"That's what the shower is for," I replied back equally as sarcastic.

"Thanks for the mental image, mate."

"Yup," I chuckled. "So… Just… Take her to the zoo and the beach?"

"Yeah. Sounds downright fucking wholesome, actually. The opposite of Weinstein."

"Yes. Yes, it does," I agreed quickly. "I'm going to take Isabella to the zoo tomorrow."

"Good. That's my darling," he said teasingly but I actually knew he meant it. He was always encouraging in his stupid sarcastic way.

"Alright. I'm going to go. I'm going to go throw up."

"You'll feel better. Grab some water and some aspirin for afterward."

"Good idea," I agreed then hung up on him.

I rushed to my bathroom and threw up all of the liquor I had quickly ingested that night. He was right though, I did feel much better afterward. After drinking a bottle of water and rinsing my mouth out I went into the kitchen where I ate a can of Potato skin Pringles along with a few little Debbies. I needed something to soak up the liquor and I didn't have any leftovers. These were the most appealing of my snack supply.

Somehow I managed to set my alarm for nine thirty. Even more of a miracle I wasn't nearly as hungover as I thought I would be when I woke up. My shower helped a lot. I swallowed more medicine and another bottle of water before heading into the kitchen again to clean up my mess from the night before. While I was in there I decided to try my hand at coffee.

Just as it was finishing Bella came padding out of her bedroom in her pajamas. She was wearing a tank top and cotton shorts with obviously no bra. I had to quickly avert my eyes. I busied myself by making her a mug just the way she liked it.

I put it on the counter for her. "I hope it's good."

"Thanks," she mumbled as she took a small drink. Bella looked so exhausted. Poor darling. I was too anxious to be tired though. And, I had a plan. "What are we doing today?"

Jasper was right. I knew how to act. I could do it. I could be charming. I put on my best casual smile. "Well, Sundays I normally take a day off. I lay around the house. Usually. But I don't want to do that today. I think I want to go out for a while. Want to get some brunch?"

"Whatever you want to do. I'm just here for the ride." Her smile was weak and her voice was quiet. She seemed so… _depressed_. I didn't know another word for it. I had to make up for it.

"Let's get brunch then. We'll take an Uber so we can have mimosas."

"I need to shower first," she replied as she finished her coffee. Bella pushed her long curly hair out of her tired eyes. She looked like she needed a nap honestly, but I didn't want to waste a second of the day with her.

"Of course. I'll be editing in my office whenever you're ready. No rush, just let me know," I told her quickly.

I got myself ready to leave, stuffing my wallet and phone into my pocket. It vibrated in my jeans just as I slipped it inside.

"_I sent you something."_

I went into my office and sat down at the desktop. The footage of the jump was already in my editing program. When I brought up my email there was one waiting for me from Jasper. Inside was a few clips. I quickly downloaded them to watch.

The message read in the email read: _She likes you, darling. _

The first was the forehead kiss. It was a thirty-second clip. She was so close to me and the way she looked down at me in it made my stomach twinge with the memory of her lips.

The next was a clip of her taking a picture of me while Seth filmed it. She smiled when saw me, her face lighting up.

Another was Bella and I just talking, standing very close to one another. This was the longest. I was sitting on the stool beside her and she was standing. She was playing with her hair, twirling it between her fingers as she smiled. Bella was rocking a little bit in her spot, obviously anxious about the jump.

"_Who would think this is a good idea to promote a game?"_ She asked me a bit sarcastically. She was obviously being teasing. "_**Whoops**__. Killed one of our stars."_

I smirked at her sassy words. I could tell she was actually really worried about me though. "_Well, you jump out of a plane in the game. A lot. It makes sense. Don't worry, I'll be safe."_

"_You also shoot each other in the game. Something you can do on the ground. Seems safer,"_ she said dryly.

"_Can you see me with a gun?"_ I asked her, leaning towards her.

Bella leaned towards me, speaking in an even tone as she maintained eye contact, "_yes. A Nerf one."_

I laughed at her response in the video. "_Actually, yeah. I do have a few of those. And, a few water guns. I'm a child, obviously."_

"_I love Nerf guns so much,"_ she whispered to me. "_I have a few. Aiden and I bought them when we were babysitting his niece when she was like five,_" she laughed at the memory that came to mind, "_and me and my best friend played with them so much more. But, playing with my niece was the best because she'd just happily run to get the darts for us."_

"_Oh, yeah," _I laughed. It made me miss my nieces a little more. "_Isn't it the best? I love playing with nieces, too. I've bought them so many. Especially when they came out with all the pink stuff."_

"_I_ _**know**__," _she said excitedly. "_I loved it so much. It made me almost as excited as the girl themed Legos. Something else I embarrassingly own."_

"_No. That's awesome. I mean, you see how many toys I own,"_ I waved my hand in front of me in the video. I was imagining my shelf, but I had so much more hidden away in boxes.

"_I know. I love them. Your shelf is crazy. It makes my geeky heart happy,"_ she said teasingly, touching her hand to her chest.

I stopped the video. It was just a blip of a conversation. It meant nothing. I was confused. It was just some of the mindless chatter we had while I was nervous.

"_Okay, I get two of the three_," I texted him. "_But, the conversation?"_

He answered quickly. I had no idea why he was awake. "_A beautiful smart hot grown ass woman told you that she likes your toys_."

"_Okay, so? That just means she's immature like me_."

My phone flashed quickly. "_Exactly! You're into the same things. Food. Video games. Music. Even your childish hobbies. And, look at the way you two are looking at each other._"

"_You think so_?"

He sent me a series of emoji faces, most of them annoyed. "_Yes_!"

"_I'm taking her out to the zoo_," I told him quickly in my defense.

"_Good. Report back later. I'm grossly invested. I hate myself._"

"_Yeah, yeah. I will. You already know I will_." Like I had anyone else I would want to tell.

"_Good luck_." Yes, I certainly needed it.

I put the clips on again, watching them each several times in a row. Then I switched to my own footage to edit. Bella was in so much of it that was definitely not going into the video. I felt like a pervert but I loved knowing I would have it for later.

Bella knocked on the door quietly, pushing it open. She was wearing a Star Wars tee shirt and blue jean shorts, her hair pushed back with her sunglasses. She looked much more awake and ready for the day.

"Ready when you are," she said as she leaned up against the doorframe.

I might not have been as hungover as I expected to be but I still wasn't in any condition to drive. Besides, if we were going to loosen up with drinks I didn't need to be behind a wheel. I was still clinging to the idea that liquor would somehow help.

The waitress came by our table at the nice brunch place I reserved. "Can I start you off with something to drink real quick?"

"Mimosas, please," I grinned. "Two." She quickly scampered away before we could say anything else. Bella looked at me curiously but didn't say anything. When the waitress came back to the table she placed them in the center. I pushed one of them towards Bella. "You're off the clock."

"No, I'm not." She raised her eyebrow and pushed it back towards me, shaking her head.

She didn't look pleased. "Okay, well. Just one then. I know you like champagne."

"One, " she agreed as Bella pulled off her sunglasses and put them on the table. She rubbed her fingers over one of her temples. "Can I also have some water?" She asked the waitress when she came back to the table for a second. "Do you need some of this?" She offered as she pulled a bottle of medicine from her camera bag.

"No, I'm good." I had taken a handful at home and drank it with half a bottle of pink stomach medicine just in case. My stomach actually felt okay. I figured carbs and sugar could only help. I settled on french toast while she ordered eggs benedict. Honestly, on another day I might have ordered the same thing.

"So, what else do you want to do or did you just want to eat?" She asked me before Bella brought her camera up, taking a picture of me as I was taking a drink. I smiled and posed like a moron so she could take another picture. She gave me a small smile, clicking away.

"I think I want to go to the zoo today. It's not too far from here."

She seemed surprised but I couldn't tell if it was good or bad. "Oh..."

What if she hated it? What if she didn't want to do it? What if this was just another mistake?

"Is that okay?"

She shook her head quickly. "Oh yeah, I'm just surprised."

"Well, you mentioned it yesterday and it sounded like fun. I haven't done anything like that in ages. It'll be nice to do something _wholesome_. If you don't want to, it's alright," I explained to her, swallowing back my nerves.

"No, I want to. It sounds great." Bella smiled again weakly.

I wasn't sure if I was making the right choice for the day until we actually arrived at the busy zoo and she excitedly began to take pictures. Her smile was beautiful. I couldn't help but stare as I waited in line for our tickets while she took close up pictures of some of the colorful flora.

We went to the petting zoo at the beginning. She seemed to really like the goats. She knelt down and giggled as she scratched their chins. I liked them too, I had to admit. I always liked animals. Bella didn't seem bothered by them when they tried to nibble on her shirt or at the ends of her hair. She just laughed and pulled it away before giving them a little pat. They kept rubbing along her bare legs, leaning into her.

I was jealous of goats.

"So, what's your favorite animal?" I asked her curiously. She had been busily taking pictures and sadly none of them had her in them. I took her camera from her grip and decided to fix that. Bella instantly began to pose for me playfully. I couldn't help but smile.

"Um, zoo animal?" She thought about it, still posing. She was so good at it. Bella was perhaps a little too short to be a supermodel but she was still gorgeous. "I'd say otters. Or, maybe capybara. They're supposed to be really friendly. Like a hamster. What about you?"

"Oh, hm. I don't know. Foxes are cute. I liked lions as a kid." I took a few steps back so I could get her full body in the shot. The bright pink background of the flamingos made her really stand out. Her hair was fluttering in the wind.

Bella took her camera back with a little playful smirk on her face. "I half expected you to say kangaroo."

"Kangaroos can get _**fucked**_," I spouted out before I could stop myself. I hated the goddamn things with a fiery passion. Bella laughed loudly, putting her hand on her heart as she did. "No, fuck those mean twats. I got kicked by one as a kid in my backyard," I quickly explained.

Bella pursed her plush lips before she giggled, "oh, no! Poor baby!"

"I've got a scar," I began to lift my shirt to show the mark I had from my run-in with the evil bastard when I was a child. I was in the hospital for a day and had twenty stitches at least. Bella quickly lifted her camera up with the funniest expression and took my picture. "Modesty!" I teased as I quickly lowered my shirt.

"I want you to know that I was making an Aussie stereotype joke and you out stereotyped me. Bravo. Got any dingo or koala scars? Wanna show me your Drop bear wounds?" She was teasing me. I liked it.

"No," I playfully pouted. "Dingoes are bloody scary, though."

I'm not sure I had ever had that much fun at a zoo before. Bella was such a good conversation partner. She was patient and funny, always invested in whatever I was saying. As the afternoon went on I felt some of my nerves melt away. I just loved talking to her so much. The masked slipped away as well and we were just _us_.

There were so many times that I simply just wanted to stop and profess myself to her. Tell her that I adored her and her encouraging smile and her sharp sense of humor. I loved her and always would. I didn't know how I knew that in a week's time, but I did. Bella was my soulmate. She had to know. I had to tell her about my feelings. But then she would look at me and my breath would catch and the moment would slip away from me.

When we got into the Uber to go to the beach my anxiety came back stronger. It was getting later in the afternoon already. Why was I letting time slip away like this?

"Santa Monica pier? Really?" Bella asked, glancing over at me.

I shrugged. "Yeah, I thought we could see the sunset here and get some seafood for dinner."

"You didn't have to do all of this for me," she nearly whispered the words. Bella seemed as nervous as I felt.

"Are you having fun?" I asked before I could stop myself, worried.

"Are you?" She looked down at her lap before peeking at me sideways through her thick black eyelashes.

"Isn't it obvious?"

"I could ask you the same." She smiled at me before she blushed and quickly looked out the window. Her voice was so airy and soft. "I can't imagine a better last day than this. Thanks."

"I'm glad you're happy." Those were the best words I could have heard from her pretty lips. It made me feel light and hopeful.

I showed out for her, dancing and lip syncing to the music playing all around us on the beach. She giggled and happily took pictures. Bella would make a face behind the camera and I would return it, earning more faces and laughter. She would scrunch up her nose a little when she thought I was being cute.

"So, you ready for a little nosh, darling?" I said in a cheesy English accent. It reminded me of my grandfather. My grandfathers were the first accents I copied as a child. It annoyed all of my family.

"Mm, sure," she smiled up at me.

"Does seafood sound good to you? There are tons of great fish places around here."

"I love seafood. Honestly, I'll eat just about anything."

"Me too. Come on. There is a great place not far from here that you're going to love. It's delicious."

It was dark by the time we got to the restaurant and the evening was almost over.

"Alright. That's it. No more, Bella. You're done for the day. You're going to relax. Get whatever you want and save room for dessert, okay?" I told her. We needed more time without her pretty face behind the camera. She let me take her things, putting it beside me without a fight.

"Fine." She sat back in her chair and sighed.

When the waitress came to the table I ordered us a bottle of wine I knew she liked. We had drunk it the other night when she cooked that amazing meal for me. She didn't argue about it as she had with the mimosa. I didn't think she wanted to. She looked tired and wine sounded good.

"You know, I'm surprised no one recognized you today," she commented offhandedly.

I felt instantly uncomfortable. I was really glad no one had. I didn't mind fans but I wanted to focus all my attention on her. "Well, I'm mainly a voice actor."

She smirked at me. "You have like twenty million followers."

"Spread out around the globe. There are seven billion people on the planet. It's not that many," I tried to explain to her. Bella actually rolled her eyes at me. "I'm not a big deal out here."

"Yes, you are. You're just not as big a deal as you're going to be... _yet._ You're going to be a household name one day. It's pretty obvious. You already have an amazing resume and it's only getting better every day."

_Wow. _

I was actually speechless. My heart fluttered in my chest. Did she really see me that way? I wasn't sure how. I drank my wine to give myself a moment to recover.

"God, you do fluff my ego so. I mean, I like it. I don't think that will be true but it's so sweet that you feel that way."

Bella shook her pretty little head, her hair bouncing. She was playing with her glass, smoothing her middle finger over the rim, her other hand in a fist under her chin. "Edward, you are wildly talented. And, smart. And, you are _what?_ Twenty four? Look at what you've accomplished so far. And you just started with Disney! You've already won a Grammy! And you've not mentioned that once this entire week. I'd tell everyone and their mothers. I'd start conversations with _'hi, I'm the Bella Swan who won a Grammy'."_

"That was just for reading a book." I shook my head. "It wasn't anything special."

"Well, I listened to it when I realized I was working with you and I understand why it won. I could listen to you speak for hours." As soon as the words left her lips her nose turned a rosy pink.

"You are so lovely. I started doing all of this to deal with my anxiousness and to help boost my self-confidence when I was having a really hard time. I never imagined I would be doing this six or eight years later. I didn't realize that my entire life had been leading up to this moment. It's better than I ever imagined though," I confessed to her. Everything in my life had been happening so fast, career-wise. I thought it was actually ruining my love life but it was just building up to the moment that I met her.

It was all leading to Bella.

Fear and panic built up in my chest again.

"You deserve it. You've worked so hard." She brought her hand to mine. I turned mine up and squeezed her soft palm with my fingers. It was just a brief warm second. She pulled away when the waiter arrived with our dinner. We were both blushing, I realized.

I tried desperately to get back to our comfortable conversations at the zoo. She obliged me happily, always ready with a sweet smile and encouraging words. But, when we got into the car I couldn't find the will to speak. I didn't know what to say to her. There was too much in my head. My heart actually ached.

I quickly punched my sister Sasha's birthday into the keypad, letting us in my house. Bella walked in front of me.

"What time is your flight tomorrow?" I asked her quietly. I was running out of time. There was so little of it left.

"Noon. So, I'll need to leave by ten to get to the airport."

I needed more time, desperately so. "I realize you probably need to pack and get to sleep but would you like to sit by the pool with me for a little while?"

"Yeah, let me put my camera away and get cleaned up. I'll meet you down there," she replied quickly. Bella didn't even look at me as she rushed off towards her room.

I needed to relax some. My heart was threatening to jump out of my throat. I was going to have a panic attack. I fetched my joints from my bedroom before going outside to the pool. When I walked past her room I realized she was taking a shower so I had a few minutes.

I plopped down on the outdoor loveseat after grabbing a bottle of water and lit the joint

"_So, you haven't called me crying yet. I hope it's because you're getting some."_ I laughed at Jasper's message.

"_No. But it's not going badly, I think."_

He replied to me quickly. "_Have you told her?"_

"_No."_

Jasper's response was instant. "_Fucking why? What are you waiting for?"_

"_I don't know," _I told him honestly. I really didn't have a good answer for him. And telling him I was a little bitch wasn't a good reason.

"_What are you doing right now?"_ He questioned.

I glanced back toward the door, hoping to see her but she wasn't there. "_I'm smoking outside. I'm waiting for her. We just got back."_

"_And you're going to tell her now, right? I swear if I have to hear about this for the next six months…" _

Bella opened the back door, slipping outside. She was barefoot and in a lovely black cotton dress that hung onto her shoulders with tiny strings. It fell just to her knees, showing off all her fun tattoos on her ankles and feet. I wanted to ask about all of them and learn every story. But, I found I had trouble speaking.

She sat beside me on the loveseat, wedging against one arm.

I took a hit and offered it to her. She said she smoked at home and she had drunk with me the last couple of nights. She carefully took it from my fingers and brought it to her lips. Her eyes closed as she sucked in a deep hit into her lungs. Bella held it in easily, passing it back to me. It was so smooth. She looked so damn cool.

"Thank you," she said lightly after kissing the smoke into the air.

"You're welcome," I told her as I took a quick hit and gave it back to her. I wanted to see her smoke again. I loved watching her full lips. Bella brought it to her mouth as she drew her feet underneath her body. "Thank you."

She cocked her head to the side slightly, curiously. "For what?"

_Oh, just being a beautiful angel that has literally given me one of the most exciting weeks of my life... _

I just shrugged casually, not trusting myself to look at her.

"Everything."

"I haven't done anything special." I saw her head shake from the corner of my eye.

"That's not true in the least," I blurted out. I realized this was it. This was my moment and I was letting it slip away from me. I just needed more time. I lit the joint again, taking a hit. I gave it back to Bella and she accepted it. We passed it back and forth for a few moments before she declined another pass. It was almost done anyway, getting harsher towards the end of the paper filter.

"Will I be able to see all the pictures you've taken?" I asked curiously. I wondered if I would ever get to see those pretty pictures of Bella that I took at the zoo. I had luckily taken a bunch with my phone as well in other spots but those in front of the birds were perfect. She did have a very nice camera, too.

"Oh, yeah. The magazine should show you everything."

"No. I mean for your personal collection."

"Oh," she breathed quietly. Bella hadn't expected that. "Yeah if you want to. I can give you the link to where I upload them. I forgot to earlier in the week."

I pulled out my phone. Maybe I could at least cultivate a real friendship with her and hopefully get the nerve up to actually ask her out later. I needed to find an excuse to go to New York very soon. Maybe I could just show up at her door with flowers one day.

"Why don't you give me all your contact information? Just so I know I have it. I'm sure I have it somewhere but just so it's easy."

Bella took my phone and typed a lot of things into note feature I was always using. She didn't give it back to me, instead placed it face down on the table.

We sat in silence for so long. She looked so beautiful. I found it hard not to stare at her again as she gazed out over the lovely city view. I could see the clouds in the distance with the promise of rain. I hoped it really stormed.

Why couldn't I just tell her? Why was I so scared? My hand was actually shaking. I stubbed out my joint and sipped my water, trying to find my courage. Where did I even begin? What could I say to this woman who was perfect for me? Why was I like this? _Fucking anxiety. _

Then Bella stood, pulling me from my swirling thoughts

"I need to head to bed. I have a long day tomorrow."

"Right. Of course," I could barely get the words out.

Bella wrung her hands nervously for a moment, licking her lip as she considered what to say to me. "If I don't see you before I leave, it was _marvelous_ and I'll remember this week for the rest of my life. If I ever have grandchildren I'll get to tell them about the week I spent with Eddie Cullen," she said in a light rush, but her voice got higher as she spoke. Before I could say anything to her she rushed away. "Goodnight," she said when she got to the door, turning back to look at me.

And that was the end of our evening and I was letting her walk away after saying something like that.

I was too scared and I hated myself for it.

"Goodnight," I said. She gave me a small smile and I tried to return it but I found that I wasn't that good of an actor. I brought another joint from the box up to my lips and lit it. I knew I wasn't going to sleep that night, no matter how tired I was.

I picked up my phone off the table to look at the note she had typed out. Her phone number, her address in Queens, and her personal website. I felt tears start to prickle at my nose as I took another hit. Quickly I typed a message to Jasper before tossing the phone onto the cushion.

"_I'm a stupid fucking coward."_

**The anxiety I felt writing this chapter was real. Lol Omg, it stressed me out. Poor guy. **

**This chapter goes with chapter 11 of Imperfect Pictures.**

**Thanks for reading! **


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter eleven-**

My phone rang just after one. Jasper had just gotten off of work. He knew I wasn't asleep.

"No," he started right away. "You're not doing this, Tony."

"I couldn't do it."

"Why?"

"I don't know!" I nearly shouted. "God, she was so lovely to me, too. All day. She-" I sniffled. I didn't want to cry again. Especially on the phone with him. "Fuck. I'm so stupid. What am I doing?"

"Yeah, good question. So, what the hell happened?"

"We went to the zoo and she was so easy to talk to. And at dinner, she gave this little speech that just…" I trailed off, I didn't know how to explain how it made me feel.

"What did she say?"

"She said I was going to be a big deal and that I was talented. And tonight before she went to bed she told me that it was _marvelous_ and that she couldn't wait to tell her grandkids about the week she spent with me," I said quietly, taking in a deep breath.

"Oh, my god! And you just let her walk away?"

"Yeah."

"She likes you! You're ridiculous. She's leaving in the morning. So, that's it? You're all mad for this chick but you're just going to let her go without even trying? You know, you talk a big game but she must not be worth it if you're not even willing to tell her that you like her."

"Hey! She has nothing to do with this! I'm the pussy here. She's amazing! I don't deserve her!"

"There! There it is! And you're fucking wrong, Tony! You deserve her. You deserve to have everything you want in your life because you're amazing, too! If she is half as awesome as you are fucking talk her up to be then you need to pull your head out of your ass. If she turns you down at least you tried but I swear to you, I will not entertain this a moment after she leaves. You know what you need to do. The problem is you. She's giving you every opening. She made the first move! She kissed you! She's already told you she likes you, she just didn't use the exact words."

My heart pounded in my chest at his words and I knew I was blushing. I swallowed heavily.

"Yeah. Okay. You're right."

"I know I am. About everything," he said the last part sarcastically.

"What if she turns me down?"

"Then she's an idiot," he said instantly.

I scoffed, "she's not an idiot."

"Then she won't turn you down."

I spent the rest of the night working on editing. I finished my personal footage for the jump. It was easy to put together. There were so many good shots. I slipped as much of Bella into it as possible.

When the sun came up I took a shower to clear my head. I tried to imagine what that night was going to be like. I already hated it. I tried to imagine a world where the day went well, but I couldn't. Anxiety and dread were filling me, just like it had the Sunday before but in such a different way.

I decided a little before eight that I needed to get coffee. When I walked passed Bella's door I realized that the light was on. Stopping, I stared at it for a long minute.

Jasper was right. I knew what the problem was and it was me.

I didn't know what I was going to say exactly. I wanted to simply drop to my knees in front of her and beg her to give me a chance, despite being wildly unworthy of her time. I wanted to tell her that no other woman in the world could ever compare to her in my eyes. Though, of course, no human was perfect, she was perfect for me in every way. I wanted her and I wanted to be hers, fully and freely. No masks. No acting. Just the real me. Bella unknowingly owned my heart already.

I quickly knocked on the door.

"Yeah?" I heard her quietly call.

I slowly opened the door and looked inside. "I... saw the light. I'm not waking you?"

Bella was standing up, dressed and ready for her flight. She was wearing blue jeans and a purple flannel shirt half open over a white tank top. Even as tired as she looked she was lovely.

"Of course not." She smiled a little, not looking at me. "What are you doing awake? I didn't expect to see you this morning."

"I've not been asleep, to be honest. I worked on editing all night."

"Me too." She looked up at me finally and took a couple of steps towards me. Thunder rumbled quietly outside as the storm began to whip up outside. I could only hear my heartbeat in my ears.

"So, I know that it's really important to you to remain professional while you're working," I tried to figure out how to start. I was, after all, the big creep in her bedroom very early in the morning.

"It is. But, I'm off the clock right now." She took another step towards me and smiled.

_She has already told me she likes me_, I reminded myself what Jasper said. I took a deep breath.

"Bella, I meant it when I said that I am very fond-" I saw the bolt of lightning behind Bella's head in the window as it crashed into the ground. I could have pissed myself. Both of us jumped towards one another. The loud boom shocked me even more and I grabbed her forearms automatically, pulling her closer protectively.

The lights flickered for a second before dying. Half the cars in the neighborhood were beeping loudly in complaint. Bella's fingers had twisted into my shirt as she looked back at the rain, her breathing quick. I couldn't take my eyes off of her though. She turned back slowly to look up at me.

"Isabella, I like you," I nearly shouted. I cleared my throat, lowering my voice, "I am more than just fond of you."

"I like you too, Edward. So much," she told me quickly, her perfectly mismatched eyes looking up into mine. I could feel her fingers tighten around the fabric of my shirt.

"I have such strong feelings for you. I'm kind of overwhelmed by them because honestly, I've not felt like this about a person before and I thought I had-" _been in love before_, I almost told her. I had never been more grateful for a phone call in my life. Bella quickly released my shirt when her cell began to ring on the bedside table.

"That's my boss. I have to take this. I'm so sorry," she said in embarrassment.

"No, go ahead. I understand." I let go of her arms so she could answer.

Bella snatched up the phone from the table and brought it to her ear. "Hello."

Then she did the most amazing thing. Bella reached her hand up to me. I smiled and quickly moved towards her so I could take it. I brought it up to my lips and kissed her knuckles gently. She grinned widely, biting her bottom lip as she watched me.

"_Hey, Bella- it's Jessica. I've got some bad news. I was just checking my email and I got one from the airline. It was forwarded to me too since I made your arrangements. Your flight has just been canceled due to the weather. I wanted to make sure you knew as soon as possible. I hope I didn't wake you._"

My mind literally began to jump for joy. _All I need is more time_, I kept thinking. And the minute I tell her I get it. It was almost funny. It had to be fate. I was not sure what I had done to deserve this good bit of karma. Especially after being a little whiny bitch all week. I didn't think the worst of the storms would hit until well after she left. I never expected them to cancel her flight.

"Um. no. You didn't. Wow, I didn't realize it was that bad," she said to the loud woman on the other side of the phone. Our eyes never left one another's, both of us smiling. I felt like my face was going to crack open.

"_Yeah. There is a good chance that tomorrow's flights will be canceled or at the very least delayed. So, I negotiated with the airline and got you fifteen hundred in credit to get a flight out whenever you want, weather permitting. But, I can't give you any extra cash for a hotel or food. I'm sorry." _

The look of pure happiness as she quickly answered made me so excited for the conversation we were about to have. Bella wanted to be there as much I wanted her to be. "No, that's not a problem. I can afford to be a tourist for a couple of days. That's amazing about the credit. It's so much! When do I need to use the credit by?"

"_It doesn't expire. And, you don't have to use it all at once. It's like a gift card. I sent everything to your email." _

I would have to personally send this loud woman flowers. _Bless her. _

"That's great, actually. Thanks. Maybe I can have a little vacation since I'm here. Stay an extra day or two. Give them a few days to catch up from the madness this is sure to cause," Bella said hopefully. I nodded to her eagerly. _Yes. Please, stay. Stay forever. _

"You are welcome to stay for as long as you want." I squeezed her hand.

She pulled her hand out of mine so she could reach up and brush her fingers over my cheek. They smelled of vanilla, warm and sweet.

"_Is he there?"_

Bella smiled happily. "Yes. He's very sweet."

I placed my hand on top of hers so I could bring her palm to my lips. Closing my eyes, I breathed her in deeply as I kissed her soft skin. She tasted as good as she smelled.

"_Oh, really? You'll have to tell me all about it... __**later.**_ _Send me your edits by the end of next week though." _

"Not a problem," she told the woman quickly.

"_Enjoy your vacation and stay safe from the storm. It's supposed to be really bad. Like a few inches of rain and really strong wind. Flooding, too. Be careful."_

"I will," she replied absently before hanging up the phone. Glancing back at her bed, she tossed the electronic device onto it carefully. Then she turned her warm eyes back to mine. Bella cocked her head slightly to the side before she told me dryly, "oh, _darn_. My flight was canceled and I won't be able to reschedule for at least a day. Maybe even two."

_What a perfect thing to say..._

"Oh, no," I could hardly keep my voice as even as hers. I felt like I was about to start jumping up and down in joy literally. "That. Is. _Terrible._"

She slid both of her hands up my arms until they came to rest on my shoulders. With a surprising amount of ease, Bella jumped up and wrapped both of her arms and legs around me. I quickly caught her, pressing her tightly to me as she began to kiss my mouth.

We kissed for several blessedly long moments before she breathed, "I want you."

Her palms rested on my cheeks as she held me in place, her sweet lips moving against mine deliciously. I wanted to taste them fully. I wanted to taste all of her. I clung to her desperately.

I sort of stumbled into the hall. If we were going to stop she needed to tell me because otherwise, I wasn't going to. All I could think about was how I wanted her in my bed.

"My room?"

She nodded quickly before pulling my mouth to hers again.

_Holy shit. This is going to happen. This is happening. _

I laid her in the middle of my big bed and she looked so tiny underneath me. I kissed her throat eagerly. As much as I wanted her I needed to make sure I didn't push anything.

"Is this okay?" I asked her as I kissed her soft cheeks and lovely lips. "I don't want to rush you. I wasn't-" Even as I was saying it I couldn't stop.

"I jumped you. Literally," she giggled as her fingers pushed underneath my shirt. Bella pulled it over my head and tossed it to the side, her eyes taking me in warmly. I happily kissed her back as she touched my chest, arms, back, and neck with gentle hands.

Her legs were so tight around my waist. Bella's hips ground against mine and I could feel the rough fabric of the denim through the thin shorts I normally slept in. I realized then that I wasn't wearing underwear. I normally didn't sleep in any. I hadn't actually expected to talk to her yet.

Bella took a handful of my hair and tugged it back roughly so she could begin to kiss my neck, sending a perfect shock down my spine. Pleasure tingled at where she pulled, her eager mouth creating new spots of sensation on my throat.

I began pulling off her shirt, finally touching her lovely stomach for just a moment. Both of her shirts quickly made it to the floor.

Literally, I had been thinking about her breasts in that tight sports bra at the tattoo shop all damn week. I had imagined them in lingerie and in nothing at all, too. But the reality was so much better than I had expected. Bella was wearing a gorgeous purple lace bra and I could just make out her dark nipples through it. I shoved my face into them automatically like an idiot and moaned, "oh, they're _perfect_."

I almost expected her to call me out for it. Tell me that I was being childish. Instead, she laughed cheerfully and hugged her thin arms around my neck. With one hand she lifted up and popped the hooks easily. I joyfully pulled the garment away from her body and tossed it over my head dramatically. I earned the exact sweet giggle and smile I wanted.

Her skin was delightfully soft and supple. Every inch of her tasted good. I could see myself trying to kiss every part of her, spending hours dedicated to doing so. She was sucking in deep breaths, squirming at my attention.

Bella's breasts were quite heavy on her tiny frame, her large nipples a lovely dark rosy shade. Both of them were hard for me. She scratched her nails over my back as I brought them into my mouth, tasting them for the first time. Gasping, she tilted her head back just a little in pleasure.

Then she slipped her hands down my back and into my shorts, grabbing my ass in an unexpected way.

_God, this is so much fun._ It was my turn to gasp. She actually squeezed tighter, smiling wildly as she did so. I was so turned on.

"You cheeky little thing." I bit into the fleshy soft part just below her nipple. Bella made a little noise of surprise before laughing, both hands still on me.

"I like your ass so much," she told me with a naughty smile just before I kissed her again. One of her delicate little hands scratched up my spine before the other squeezed one of my cheeks tightly. I thrusted my hips forward into her, brushing my erection against the apex of her thighs.

"I've honestly never been told that before," I whispered as I brushed my lips over her ear.

"It looked so good in your flight suit," she whispered back before kissing her way down my sweaty forehead, bringing my ear between her teeth.

_Damn. _

I couldn't take her blue jeans off fast enough. She helped me, pushing them down her thick hips and kicking them to the floor. I took her all in for the first time almost completely nude. Her light olive skin was slightly slick with sweat. Bella's panties were the exact opposite of what I had been expecting. Instead of matching lace she was wearing Halloween themed underwear with little vampire bats on them.

"Love them," I told her honestly as I slid my hand down her stomach and over her panties. I knew the exact spot she wanted me to touch. Her hips pressed up when my fingers pressed between her thighs.

I gently rubbed her clit through the fabric of panties, feeling them quickly soak from her arousal. She hummed in pleasure so I pressed a little harder until she was panting and arching up off the bed. I took this chance to kiss her chest again. Her fingers dug into my shoulders, her short blunt nails dragging against my skin.

Dipping my fingers lower I realized exactly how wet she was. She was just as turned on as I was. I wasn't sure how it was possible.

"Oh, fuck..." Bella breathed as I touched her there, her head falling back as her hips rolled towards my hand.

Pushing her panties to the side, I brushed my fingers along her wet clit. With every movement she swirled her hips with me, pushing up towards my hand. My mouth found the spot I had bitten before, a small bruise already starting to form, and brought it into my mouth to suckle more.

I needed to get Bella off. I had to feel her cum.

Kissing her lips gently, I breathed, "tell me what to do."

Bella brought her hand down to my wrist, pushing my fingers inside of her for the first time while lifting her hips up to meet them. Then she brought her own hand to clit to take over what I had just been doing to her. She tightened up around them almost instantly and I honestly almost came in my shorts.

"Oh, my god," I gasped out before attacking her perfect lips. We kissed, my fingers playing within her. She moaned against my mouth, her bottom lip brushing against mine she as orgasmed around my fingers. "Yes, _please_. Oh, my god."

"Don't stop," she begged loudly as if I would. Her legs twitched and her feet kicked at the mattress as she came over and over again.

I knew a second before she reached her limit, the squeezing becoming intense. Bella pushed herself away forcefully, her body shaking a little. She wasn't away from me very long, rolling herself into my chest and nuzzling her head against my neck. I happily held her, kissing her forehead lightly.

"Is that normal for you? Getting off more than once?" I asked her before I could stop myself, pulling back a little to look at her.

Bella seemed a little embarrassed but she was still smiling at me. "I'm really easy. I've always been. I'm pretty good at getting myself off."

"I can see that. And, I am _very_ impressed. It's a skill I've mastered as well," I joked joyfully.

I expected her to laugh at me but instead, she gave me a sexy little smirk. "I bet you have. I'd like to see your _skills_ in action." Bella tugged at my shorts so they slid down my hips a little. Then she gently brought my earlobe between her teeth. "Do you have condoms?"

"Yes!" It was more a declaration of happiness that I did, in fact, have condoms and that I was going to use them with her than an actual answer to her question.

I flung myself off the bed, going to the drawer beside my bed. Inside was an unopened box of condoms I had gotten the week before I was going to move to America with Victoria. I figured it would be a good idea to be prepared. I was, of course, an idiot. I almost threw them away when we broke up. I was so glad that I hadn't.

I was shaking as I picked up the box. This was happening. I was about to have sex with this amazing person. And she wanted to have sex with me too.

I watched as she pulled her panties down with her thumbs and then crawled on her hands and knees over to me. She sat back on her heels, taking the condom I just successfully ripped from the bunch. Bella put it in the bed beside her and then pulled down my shorts with both hands.

Her eyes got a little wide for a second when she took me in and I was worried about what she saw. Slowly Bella lowered herself down onto her elbows and brought me into her mouth.

My ex loathed blow jobs, which was fine. Everyone has likes and dislikes. I had to admit I did miss them. She would occasionally give me one if I asked nicely enough, but it was never fun when she was so obviously disgusted by it. Bella was the exact opposite of that.

A wild shudder ran down my spine as I hit the back of her throat. She used her tongue to tease my head before sliding back down again. Over and over again she took me into her perfectly warm and eager mouth. It was, without a single doubt, the best blow job I had ever received. I could barely breathe. The sight of her nice round ass and her bobbing head was too much for me and I had to close my eyes to keep from cumming down her throat like I very much wanted to.

Bella wrapped her fingers around me and licked me one more time before kissing up my chest. She continued to stroke as she did.

"Thank you," I told her quietly as I pushed my fingers into her curls so I could bring her mouth into another kiss.

"You're so polite," she giggled lightly, kissing me again. I felt like I was on fire. It was so hard to think with her doing that with her hand.

"It's not nice to be... rude to the woman... who is doing good… _amazing_... uh... things to you," I panted.

"I can see your logic." She lightly kissed along my chin, watching my expression as she wove her fingers into my hair. Bella pulled it roughly and I twitched in her tight grip. "I don't think that's what you like though. Being polite."

_Damn. _

"I think I'll like whatever you want to do to me."

"That's dangerous. What if I'm really, really, _really_ kinky?" She picked up the condom, lifting it up some.

I grinned. I certainly hoped she was. "Promises, promises."

She returned my smile wickedly, opening the foil as she did. Her gaze was so piercing. "Just so you know, I'm going to ruin you for other women."

_Oh, baby, you have no idea. _

"Already done."

Her mischievous face was practically glowing. She pushed the condom onto me while her eyes never left mine. Forcefully she pushed me back onto the mattress. Bella was over me less than a second later, kissing me. My hands went to her thighs, running my fingers over her soft skin to her very nice ass. I squeezed large handfuls and I could feel her smile against my lips as we kissed.

Bella leaned back, carefully adjusting herself on top of me. She was so incredibly wet that I could feel her drip as she slid down. When she was fully seated on me for the first time she leaned her head back as her eyes closed, brushing her own hair out of her face. While still holding her hair she began to roll her hips on top of me. I moved my hands to them so I could move in time with her.

She moved the hand that was in her hair down her body and in between her legs. The instant she touched herself I could feel the same tightening I had before. It was so much better around my cock though. She really was good at getting herself off because not long after she began to cum around me.

"Edward, oh god… _Edward_…" She called my name

With that, any of my self-control disappear and I forced her down on top of me and I thrust myself inside of her throbbing body. I went blind for a second when I came. It took me a moment to realize it was because my face was shoved into my pillows.

After she pulled herself off of my softening erection she leaned down and kissed my shoulder, laying her slick hot body against mine. Both of us were panting loudly in the quiet. I didn't want to let her go, ever.

Thunder rumbled overhead, shaking the house again. The gray light from the window lit up the electricity-free house. Bella slowly sat up, looking out the window briefly before going to the bathroom.

I sat up, watching her go. I couldn't help the smile that spread over my lips as I watched her swaying hips. When I finally forced myself from the bed I went to throw away the spent condom. Bella wasn't in there for very long, watching me for a minute before we switched places.

I had a hickey on my neck and I was covered with sweat. Quickly I washed up, unable to stop smiling at my reflection.

When I came out of the bathroom Bella was already in my bed, the covers up to her breasts. She reached for me and I rushed towards her excitedly. I slid under the covers and wrapped my arms around her tightly. Her warm body molded to mine.

Somehow I fell almost instantly asleep.

I woke up to my phone beeping on the bedside table. It was still dark and raining. And Bella was still in my arms, her legs wedged between mine.

Reaching over carefully so not to wake her, I looked at my phone. I had several messages. One from Seth, another from Tyler. My sister Carmen sent me one too, but it was just a picture. The newest message was from Jasper. He must have just gotten to work, it was early in the morning there. It was just before one in the afternoon in LA.

"_I hope you're doing okay. We're actually doing a story on the weather in Los Angeles. It's supposed to be a whopper of a storm."_

I had a million things I wanted to say to him. I couldn't think of where to even start.

Bella hummed in her sleep and rolled over slightly, her hair fanning all over my face. She was smiling in her sleep, her fingers curled against my chest.

I lifted up my phone, careful to make sure there wasn't anything naughty in the frame, and took a picture of us. My stupidly obvious smile was hidden behind her hair, my eyes glowing with joy, with sweet sleeping Isabella on my shoulder.

I sent it to him, grinning to myself.

"_It's about time. She didn't leave?"_

"_Her flight was canceled actually. I told her this morning that I liked her, she got a call that her flight was canceled, and she then jumped me. Literally fucking jumped on me."_

"_She climbed you like a tree, eh? Good for her. I told you she liked you, you dumb cunt. If you had just told her at the party you could have spent all day yesterday fucking instead of bitching."_

"_Yes, you're right. You're always right. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go back to sleep with this super sexy woman who actually literally jumped me."_

"_This is going to be terrible for your ego,"_ he replied instantly.

I placed my phone down after putting it on silent. Bella hummed again when I shifted, rolling over onto her side while her head was still on my arm. I rolled so that my chest was against her back, holding her to me. She wiggled closer, pressing her plush ass against my once again stirring erection. I needed more rest though and I quickly slipped back to sleep.

When I woke up I was alone. The bathroom door was open though. I sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I had only been back to sleep an hour or so.

I pulled on my shorts but I couldn't find my shirt. Though, I did find most of Bella's clothing twisted into the sheets and blankets that were at my feet.

Slowly I made my way in the darkness towards her room. The door was open and it was empty. When I got to the end of the hall I could see her standing in my shirt by the glass wall that overlooked the pool. She sipping a small glass of milk as she watched the rain fall on the pool.

As I watched her, I found myself speechless. I had spent the entire week so confused. But watching her, there were three things I knew for certain.

Isabella was, by far, the most beautiful woman I had ever met, inside and out.

The sex we just had was the most amazing and intense of my _pathetically_ boring sex life.

And, I was very much deeply, irrationally, in love with her and would be for the rest of eternity.

Bella glanced back, catching me. She smiled, placing her glass of milk on the table since she had finished it.

"Hi."

"Hi there," she said softly, smiling a little.

"So, that was something else." I walked towards her slowly.

"It was," she replied shyly. "I guess we have things to talk about now."

I wasn't going to be so stupid to waste another damn minute not telling her what I wanted. I needed to be perfectly clear. That wasn't just sex. I wasn't just using her. "I want to date you. I want you to be my girlfriend. I mean, I want to be with you. If you'll have me."

Bella smiled sadly. "I live on the opposite coast, Eddie."

I couldn't give less than a fuck where she lived. It didn't matter.

"I already travel a lot for my work. I've gone to New York a few times. I can come to see you and I can fly you out to see me whenever you want. There are more ways than ever to keep a long distance relationship working. And I could always move to New York. I could do my work anywhere. Or, maybe one day I can convince you to move here. There isn't a better city for photographers than LA. Look, this week with you has been one of the best of my life and I already know that I don't want to miss this chance with you, Bella. If you feel the same way."

"Isn't it obvious how I feel about you?" She asked, flushing. I wanted to tell her not to an idiot like me but she spoke again. "But I can't afford to fly whenever I want, Edward."

How could she even think about that? Money was the one thing I had plenty of. It was confidence I lacked.

"I'll pay for your tickets."

She shook her head. "That's not fair. I don't want you to feel like I'm using you ever."

"Darling, no. I wouldn't. I'm offering. Honestly though, If I could have my way you'd just never leave and that would fix that problem," I said quickly. The words came out lightly but I meant them.

Bella looked away from me. "I have to go back to New York eventually. Probably on Thursday or Friday. You have to work, too. We can't let this keep us from our responsibilities."

"Would you consider staying a week at least? I'll take care of everything. Give me a chance to convince you to stay with me forever," I begged as I walked towards her. _Give me time,_ I thought. _I didn't earn it but let me make up for that mistake now_. Those were the words I wanted to say to her. Instead, I said, "please?"

"A week?" She looked back at me and she scrunched up her nose a little bit. I knew exactly what that I meant. Bella thought I was being cute and she liked it. I decided to press my luck.

"Or, two?" I asked and she sighed playfully as if she was disappointed.

"A week. It's cheaper to fly out on a Tuesday or a Wednesday anyway. But I don't want to get in the way of your work."

I smiled like a moron. "Last night I got a week's worth of editing done. I'm way ahead. Besides, you make me feel so inspired. There are about thirty things I want to write down once I get a chance. After I get us some food, of course," I told her a little too honestly. I felt like I could jump the moon in one go, my energy and excitement were nearly boundless.

"We might be stuck with Little Debbies and Pringles. You should check the weather and if there is a break we should go to the stores to get supplies for the lights being out. You are very much lacking in that department."

She was obviously much better at these sort of things than me. I realized that I didn't have a single candle or torch in the house.

"You're right but first." I pulled her to me and kissed her smiling lips. "Do you want to be my girlfriend?"

"Oh, my god. Are we in high school?" She actually very dramatically rolled her eyes, flipping her long curly black hair over her shoulder as she clicked her tongue playfully. "Gonna, _like_, take me to prom and stuff?"

"Baby, I'll take you wherever you want to go if you'll be mine."

"Man, you're like a cheesy song lyric. Stop. I'll be your girlfriend if stop being such a try hard," she teased me as she lightly pulled my hair.

"But, trying hard is kinda my thing though." I pouted stupidly, earning a big smile. She smoothed one of her hands over my cheek lightly as she looked into my eyes.

"You don't have to try that hard for me. I'm easy, I promise."

"Just because you're easy doesn't mean you're not worth the extra effort," I told her fiercely. She was very much worth it. How could she not realize? I was in no way worthy of the gorgeous woman that just agreed to be mine.

"Aw, that's the nicest way anyone has ever called me a slut before," she said in a thick accent as Bella placed her hand over her chest. The word _slut_ was the main thing I heard and I panicked for a moment, worried that she thought I was calling her easy. Then I saw her batting eyelashes and shit eating grin. Bella was fucking with me again and enjoying it thoroughly. I laughed loudly in relief and joy.

"Oh, GOD! That is not what I meant and you know it. Besides, I don't think you're that easy at all. I think you are cheeky. And naughty. And stubborn. And challenging. And _amazing_."

**Aw, he saw the light. **

**This goes with chapter 12 of IP. **

**Thanks for reading!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter twelve- **

When I went to get my phone I had several more messages. Most were in the group chat between Seth, Tyler, and myself. They asked about my power and both of them offered if I was without I was more than welcome to join them since they still did. They were kind offers. But, I would rather be alone with Bella in the dark anyway.

I had a couple more messages from my sisters. Carmen asked about the storm and Irina sent a video of my niece Ava kind of smiling.

I decided to answer my sister later. I also decided to reply to Jasper's message from before while I was checking the weather.

"_It may be terrible for my ego. Idgaf. As long as my girlfriend likes me :) :) :) "_

"_Oh, so she's your girlfriend now?"_ He replied back.

"_Yup."_

"_Usually they're your girlfriend first before you shag,"_ Jasper joked.

"_I would have asked first but she was too busy jumping me."_

"_I love how proud you are of yourself like you did anything. You just got lucky."_

I laughed at my phone. Bella was in the bathroom getting freshened up. She looked over at me curiously.

I couldn't help but smile at my answer. "_You are oh so right."_

"_What are you doing right now?"_

"_Trying to check the weather. We've got to get some supplies for this shit so we're probably going to go out for a few minutes. Bella's getting washed up in the ladies. My shirt legit is a dress on her."_

"_I bet she looks good in it."_

Bella came out of the bathroom and walked towards me a slight smile on her face while she ran her fingers lightly over my bare shoulders. I put my phone down and pulled her closer to me so I could push my face into her stomach. Gently she began to play with my hair and I felt as if I was going to purr.

"So, the rain will drop off for a few hours but there is supposed to be another round that's worse coming right after. If we want to go, we should now. I don't think we should be out too late."

"Probably," she agreed. I breathed her scent in deeply. The shirt now smelled of her and I mixed together, our sweat, sex, soap and Bella's perfume filling my nose.

Bella brought her palm to my jaw and pulled my face up so she could lean down to kiss me. Unlike at the Skydiving place, I could hold her. I slid my hands up her back, holding our kiss for as long as she allowed. When she pulled away she kissed my forehead. Now that I was allowed to touch and kiss her I wasn't going to stop.

I kissed her hand at every light on the way to the Target we had gone to earlier in the week. Once inside I bought our breakfast to snack on while we shopped. Bella seemed to know better what we needed. I simply grabbed more liquor and snacks like I was still in uni and not an adult. I felt even less like an adult when I honestly had no idea if I had laundry soap. It was another chore I was too lazy to do.

As we walked towards another part of the store Bella had a rather worried look on her face.

"You look concerned. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, just trying to think what I can spend on clothes," she replied.

"Love, get whatever you want," I told her instantly.

"Um, no." Bella shook her head slightly as she typed into her phone. "That's not how that works."

"I'll buy-" Her hand shot up.

"No. You won't," she stated firmly.

Suddenly Bella's eyes got massive and her tiny hand flew up to her chest as her breathing nearly tripled.

"What?"

"This can't be right. I had like five hundred in here," she said as she shook her head.

Five hundred? That was it? That's all she had when she came here? No wonder she didn't want to buy herself that damn seven dollar dress. It made the money she gave those boys all the more touching.

"How much do you have now?" I knew it had to be more and I knew why. I didn't expect it to be as much as it was though.

"Nearly three thousand!" Bella said loudly in shock, tapping the screen over and over again as if it would make it faster somehow.

I hadn't looked at how well the video was doing since I had posted it and put a few more of the videos I made with her in the queue. I had been too wrapped up in our little drama I had made in my head. I was too wrapped up in Bella. The video must have been doing well though.

"Oh, the first video with you uploaded Saturday. One of the food tasting ones," I tried to explain casually. "That's why."

"That's too much," she breathed out. The poor woman looked like a deer in headlights.

I laughed nervously, "I told you I gave you the standard rate I give all the people in my videos. I don't even look at the money part, honestly. Some program gets it and divides it up. It's only like four percent. And this is for only one video. There is going to be another one today in... a couple of hours? So, you might want to up it from a hundred to five hundred. Or, maybe a thousand. That seems annoying." I pointed at the screen. I could only hope the rest of the videos did as well.

And then Bella started to cry, her hand flying up to her mouth.

"Oh, Lord Jesus, first day and I've already made you bawl," I joked as I hugged her to me, pressing her face to my chest as she did. Bella really had meant it when she told me fifty was a lot of money to her.

"It's so much."

"No, it's not." _No_. It was just the tip of the iceberg. I was going to give her everything she could ever want in this life.

"I'm _poor._ This changes my life. I can pay next month's bills right now and pay something off six months early. And, I can put money in savings and still buy me my first pair of new shoes in a year. A damn year! And I have like five hundred in my pocket that I can just spend and not worry. Do you know how hard it is to just constantly scrape by?" She gasped out shakily.

Oh, no. No, I didn't. Not in the least. My father was a retired VP of an exports company and my mother was a successful criminal lawyer then judge. Both of my grandparents were well of as well. There were several Sirs and Lords somewhere in my bloodline too fairly recently.

"No, I don't. I am very privileged, I know. I grew up comfortable and I've never had to struggle," I admitted.

I could feel her trembling under my touch as she finally looked at me. I could see her make the decision in her eyes. She instantly did what she said she was going to do, paying off bills and putting the money away in savings. Bella might have been an easy going person, but she was nothing if not responsible.

"You seriously give your friends this much?" She asked as we finally began to move again. I let her lead the way.

I shrugged. "Yeah. I mean, it's no skin off my back. And it makes everyone happy. I've never actually discussed it really in numbers with anyone. Though, I give my family more. Just so you know."

"No," she said in a nervous laugh. "Let's not jump that far yet."

"Fair enough," I agreed with my own laugh.

When we got to the women's clothing she walked towards the sale's racks first.

"All that and you still shop in the clearance section? Honestly, I'm buying it." Jesus, she wept over a couple of thousands of bucks. Nothing in this store was that expensive. I would give her anything she asked for.

"Just because it's clearance doesn't mean it's not cute. Besides, I'm _tiny_ tiny. All the little stuff stays in clearance forever usually," she told me as she pulled out a cute little shirt with rainbows on it. Rainbows were definitely one of her things. "And, you're not buying _shit_," she said evenly without even looking at me.

"Fine…" I sighed. I would find other things to pay for later. Suddenly, my mouth decided to ask a question. "Can you shop in the girl's section?" I instantly thought I had made an ass of myself and probably offended her. Bella didn't care in the least.

"The shirts. Especially plus sized girls. Not in pants though. My ass is too big. I could probably wear plus sized girl leggings." She looked a very small pair of short I hoped she would get and model for me. "Juniors is my sweet spot."

"What's your actual height? I've wanted to ask but not be rude. I'm six foot five, by the way."

"I know," she laughed, finally glancing over at me with a little smirk. "It's hard to miss. I'm five foot even. I used to wear heels _always_ and lie. Say I was five foot four. Which is... just _sad._ Aiden used to say I made him feel tall. He was only five six." As soon as she realized what she said her face flushed and I could see her embarrassment but I didn't understand it. "I'm sorry. This is weird. But, he would have liked you though."

"I think he might have had a problem with how I feel about his wife." I think he would very much dislike the fact that I was in love with her already. I could imagine myself easily spending the rest of my life with this woman. I thought about the text I sent Jasper when I first saw her and realized it was one hundred percent true.

"Oh, you'd be surprised." I didn't believe her in the least. "He wasn't jealous. He was very _generous_."

I wondered what that meant exactly. I decided it was time to lighten the conversation a little.

"Take my wife, please." I did a Groucho Marx impression, making her smirk. She shrugged and looked away from me with a light flush on her cheeks.

"If he knew I wanted it as well, absolutely. And he would have told me to have a good time and tell him all about it later. We were friends and he just wanted me to be happy. He would have wanted to be your friend, though. He'd like your taste in food and video games. Liked your house and your book collection. He would have watched your videos. He liked Youtube very early on." She stopped in her thoughts for a moment. "He'd be annoyed I've waited so long to move on. He used to tell me all the time I was wasting my youth on being an old woman. It'll be his birthday soon. He'd be forty-four."

He was so much older than her. It was less than our age difference though. It made me a little surprised that she was interested in me. I wondered if I seemed immature to her. I didn't see her as being stuffy or boring though. She was hardly an elderly lady. She seemed like a free spirit to me.

"Why did he say that? You don't seem like an old woman to me."

"I grew up really quick and it made me hard. Perfect for New York. I was really bitter when I met him. I'm still pretty hard now, I think, but... he made me a more gentle person. He made me softer. Aiden made me better." Bella wiped her hand over her cheek and gave a little sigh.

"He sounds like someone I would have liked."

She smiled at me a little before pressing a quick kiss to my cheek. "I'm _so_ sorry. This must be so awkward. I don't know how to deal with this. I've never done it before. I'm going to scare you away with this."

"It doesn't bother me. It's not awkward. You loved someone. That's good. I'm glad you were happy, even if it didn't last as long as you deserved. I'm grateful to him and I wish I could take away your pain. I don't want to replace him, I couldn't imagine trying. But, I do hope that one day you feel even a small amount what you did for him for me," I blurted out without thinking, just letting my mouth go. It must have been the right thing because Bella's eyes began to overflow with tears as she gazed up at me almost hopefully. "Dammit," I said with a nervous chuckle, my own tears stinging at my nose "You're going to make me emotional."

"I'm not usually a crier."

"I am," I admitted. She laughed as she pushed her face against my shirt. Bella let me hold for a moment as she took calming breaths. No one was around us to notice our tender moment. It felt like we were in our own little bubble.

When she finally pulled away she said, "I do already, by the way. Feel at least a percentage of what I felt. It's the first day, let us not rush things. But, I do like you a lot."

My heart swelled up. I could see the love in her eyes that she still had for him. Maybe lesser men would be jealous but, I didn't fault this man for his love for her. I wanted any bit of it she was willing to give me. I would be willing to patiently wait for even the smallest amounts of her affection. I had a feeling that Bella was as generous a companion as she was a friend and apparently lover though.

"Right. No rushing," I said just before I pressed my lips to hers. She pulled me closer as the building shook with the storm outside. Our little bubble was bursting for the moment but hopefully, we would continue it later again when we were alone. "We should probably keep an eye on the time and weather though."

Bella rushed through the clothing after that. Within fifteen minutes she had tried on several things and thrown them in the cart. Then she moved on to the lingerie section.

As cool as I was trying to play it, I felt heat crawl up the back of my neck as I walked behind her. Her swaying ass was tempting enough dressed, but now that I knew what it looked like in the nude? God, it was too much. The image of her on her hands and knees in my bed as she sucked on me just hours before came to mind.

I instantly got hard and Bella didn't notice a damn thing. She just continued to shop, putting things in the cart that I was going to hopefully get the pleasure of peeling off of her.

She glanced behind me and I could see the instant amusement when she realized my _discomfort_.

"Want to make any suggestions?" She asked seductively, her voice teasing. "Comments? Anything?"

"Oh.. oh.. um," I stuttered for a second. "I mean, you should wear what you want and like. It's not for me."

"Of course, but if you see something you like I don't mind. No one will see them but you."

My mind shut down for a second. This day was going a million times better than I could have ever imagined. It was almost surreal. With zero thought I pointed to the pretty hot pink set beside us. Honestly, it didn't matter what she picked. I wanted to see every single one of them on her. "That one, please."

She looked me over with clear amusement, her nose wrinkling a little bit in that way she did when she thought I was being cute. After finding the right size she placed it in the cart with her other things. Then with a swish of her hips, she turned her back to me so she could keep shopping.

"Yay." I clapped like a moron for her entertainment. "Best day _ever._" She didn't turn around but I could see the sides of her cheeks lift and her eyes crinkle with her smile.

Thankfully we weren't in the panties and bras too long. She hurried along to the shoes where she bought even more stuff on sale. Heels and sneakers. I had realized that I hadn't seen her in anything but gym shoes and her ballet flats the night of the jump. I couldn't wait to see whatever she decided to wear for me. Perhaps the pink lingerie and the black heels, like out of some teen boys' fantasy.

"I need to get some cosmetic stuff and we should get some _supplies_ from the pharmacy," she whispered to me.

"Right. Good idea. Those condoms are probably about to expire anyway. I got them right before I broke up with my ex last year. They're Australian condoms," I overshared.

"Do you put them on counter-clockwise?" She said as she looked in my eyes, her voice dry as could be.

"Har har," I laughed at her stupid joke. "You're a riot, you are. Right full of piss."

Jasper was going to _love_ her. Vicky had been very serious and he avoided her at all costs. They didn't get along very well at all. Like oil and water.

As if in a way of warning her about how much sex I was hoping we were going to have, I threw a giant box of assorted condoms in with the rest of our overflowing cart. I could see her little smirk.

"Perhaps we should grab some of that as well," she pointed at the lube above the condoms. That I didn't have any of.

"What should we get?" I asked her. I never knew and they were constantly changing.

"Hm, I guess it depends on what you want to do with it," Bella said to me, her body pressing into my side. I slide my hand down her back and quickly grabbed her ass. She laughed, her hand reaching up and smoothing over my jaw as she continued to look. "I never know what to get."

Well, at least we had that in common.

"We can always get more than one," I offered. They were cheap.

She giggled cutely, "what? Are we going to rank these like those Pringles?"

_Um, yes, please. _

I let out a nervous snort as I tried to hold in my laugh. She laughed a little harder, tilting her head back to look at me. "I don't think we can film that," I said to her in my own laugh.

"I mean, obviously you can. You just shouldn't show it to anyone. Oh, my god. Can you even imagine how that would go?" She joked.

With her bent over my recording table in my office while I fucked her from behind. Sure, I could imagine it all day long.

I picked one and tossed it in the cart. "Now, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't let me film anything like that."

"Ha," she looked up at me again. "You have no idea what I'll let you do to me."

I threw two more in. She giggled. "So, Eddie tries lube then?"

This time I let out my laugh. She tugged me along behind her. "Oh, do you think it would make a good video?"

"Mm, I think it would be hilarious," she replied. "I can see it perfectly in my mind."

Hilarious wasn't a word I would use for my thoughts on the matter. "Oh?"

"Well, this one is... _slippery._.." Bella did a rather funny impression of an Australian accent as she stopped to look at the makeup. I saw where she was going and decided to play along happily.

"This one is... smells like a cherry lollie for some reason," I hammed up my accent for her.

"Oh, my god! This one burns! Why does it burn?!" She said hilariously with the accent again.

I barked out a laugh just as an old lady came rolling by. She looked annoyed at both of us for some reason. Bella was unbothered though. She picked out a pink tube of something and tossed it over her shoulder and perfectly into our cart of stuff. She purposefully flung it the way I had done her bra in the morning. Quickly I turned away so not to laugh directly at the old woman.

After she selected her assortment of makeup, we made it to the checkout and put everything in the car. There was a sushi place in the same shopping center that appeared to be open so I suggested we order a real meal from there. She happily agreed.

After we ordered we sat by the window, her warm little body pressed against mine as we sipped green tea and watched the rain pound against the glass. When she spoke about how she liked to edit in this type of weather, this is what I imagined. My hand rested on the small of her back, her head on my shoulder.

When she looked up at me with a small smile I had the urge to kiss her. I held back for a moment but realized I didn't have to. She didn't want me to. Closing the distance between us, I pressed my lips to hers. She smiled against them, her fingers dragging over my jaw and up into my hair as she returned it lightly.

I was grateful for my covered garage as the storm began to rage again when we arrived home. The wind slapped violently at the door as it closed behind us. Bella hurriedly helped me bring all of our bounty inside. She took all of her new things to the guest bedroom and came back with her camera in hand. She placed it down onto the coffee table in front of the couch before she helped me set the entire living room, kitchen, and dining room up with unlit candles.

"You should put one in your room and one in the bathroom now," she commented after putting batteries into all the torches for us. I probably went overboard with our supply but at least we wouldn't be hurting for a romantic atmosphere.

I took them back to my room like she had told me to, checking my phone as I did. There were so many messages I was ignoring. Seth and Tyler were still talking through the group chat. I also had a message from Tanya asking about the weather. I sent her the message that I was just fine but the power was going in and out.

I looked at the weather again on my phone. It was going to continue on for at least another day. We were supposed to go out the following day to shoot but there was no way that was going to happen. It was fine, I could reschedule. It made me excited to think about having a day all alone with Bella. I quickly sent the guys a message letting them know what I had decided. Seth agreed to call all of the places to let them know and I would set up the new time later for later in the weekend probably.

Since I had my phone out I decided to finally reply to Jasper's text from earlier. "_You bet your ass she does but she's going to look even better in the knickers she let me pick out for her."_

"_Pics or didn't happen lol." _

"_Haha, go fuck yourself,"_ I laughed to myself as I typed it.

"_I'm trying to. That's why I asked for pictures."_

"_You're disgusting."_

"So, I canceled shooting for tomorrow and arranged it for later this weekend. All I have to do tomorrow is a little editing now," I told Bella as I came back into the living room. My phone beeped in my hand. Jasper replied with '_no shit'_. I shook my head and put my phone away. "The power is out over at Seth's. Tyler's just came back on."

Something hit the window, leaves, and limbs clattering against the roof as the wind and the rain increased. The lights flickered off again, making Bella jump in surprise as she leaned against the bar.

The power went out again as the wind slapped rain against the window.

"If there is electricity you'll do a little editing," she answered before she began to actually light our candles. I hurried to help her.

It looked just as romantic as I imagined it would.

"What shall we do?"

_Please say roll around with a nerdy Australian in the nude,_ my mind joked at me. It was a bit funnier this time.

Bella bit her lip for a moment before she looked up at me from underneath her eyelashes. "Have a glass of wine and a joint then eat our sushi by candlelight while listening to music on my phone and watching the rain?"

_Oh, hell yeah. _

"Oh, sounds perfect," I spouted before quickly turning on my heels and going to get the joints she had suggested. When I came back Bella had music playing on her phone already. Placing them down on the side table, I went to get us a bottle of wine to share. While I did Bella began to take pictures of everything. I knew these pictures were for no one else for her. This was for her personal collection. I smiled to myself as I watched, pouring us each a glass.

"You look like the cover of a Harlequin novel," she joked playfully. I certainly did not. She showed me the picture with a little smirk on her lips.

"My shirt would be off for that."

"Later," Bella said in a funny way just before she ran her fingers over my ticklish stomach. Despite myself, I laughed and jerked uncontrollably backward. I almost spilled our drinks everywhere. She laughed as she wrinkled her nose a little, taking the glass I had for her.

I had always enjoyed cuddling. As a child, I was always laying in the middle of my sisters like a kitten who always had to be the warmest in the pile. They allowed me to crawl all over them until I was far too big. Some of my fondest memories were me, age seven or eight, laying pressed between my oldest sisters on the couch while we watched movies for hours. Sometimes whole weekends. This was better though. I enjoyed my job as a pillow and I had never felt so comfortable before.

I realized as I sat with her pressed against my side that I hadn't thought about my mask once all day. The thought almost brought tears to my eyes. I don't think she realized what she was giving me. Even if it was just for a single perfect day.

She scrolled through pictures on her camera, looking at everything she had taken in the past few days. Bella had taken so many. Every one of them seemed so good. She was such a talented artist. I wanted to see the world the way she did. She saw art in things I looked past every single day. I wanted to teach me how and I wanted to crawl into her mind and see how it worked for myself.

"You're so talented," I told her honestly. She smiled a little before kissing me on the cheek.

"Thank you."

We took turns smoking, both of us silent. It wasn't uncomfortable though. I wasn't sure we needed to say anything in those moments. It felt as if I had everything I needed for the first time in a long time.

Bella put her camera down on the side table before checking her cell. "What would we have done if I had to fly out today? I'd be back home by now," she asked me.

That was a good question. I had no idea what I was going to do. Either cry into a bottle or do something overdramatic.

"I was going to beg you to stay or fly to New York to follow you if you left before I could. Call and beg on your way to the airport to come back. I don't know. Something like that," I teased her though it was probably truer than I would have liked.

"No," she laughed.

"Mm, yes. Maybe I'd just show up at your door with flowers and beg you to give me a chance. I expected more begging altogether, frankly. I thought after Saturday it would be harder, to be honest," I told her a bit too truthfully at the end. I didn't need to be drinking and smoking too much in front of her. I already knew I wasn't the best at handling it.

She seemed confused. "What about Saturday? Why?"

"I thought you weren't interested in me, to be honest."

She shook her head quickly. "I thought you were flirting with me like you had with that girl at the party."

_Damn_, I knew that's what upset her. I mentally kicked myself for doing it again, but at least it worked out for the best.

"I shouldn't have done that. It's... It's an act I have to put on when I'm in public. I admit I probably let it go too far that night. But, I don't feel the need to act for you."

"So, did tonight work out better than you hoped?" She smiled at me warmly as she brought her hand to my face, her fingers dancing against my cheek before she pressed her palm to my skin. I leaned into her touch.

"I didn't even want to think about tonight, honestly. If you weren't interested- I just... I just knew I had to tell you how I felt and deal with it but there was no way I couldn't," I admitted. I had been a fool for keeping it in as long as I did.

Bella seemed surprised, clicking her tongue as she flushed slightly. "Couldn't you tell how much I am into you? I feel so obvious. I even kissed you!" She giggled, looking down at her lap in almost embarrassment.

"But, I asked for it! I wasn't sure. I thought... maybe... but I wasn't sure if I was just projecting my feelings onto you. But I knew the second I watched you get out the car and I saw your face for the first time, though…" That you were my soulmate and I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. Jasper was right. I was a dramatic bitch and I was going to scare her off if I didn't chill out. I shook my head, clearing my thoughts away. "You are the most amazing woman."

She pulled the smoke from my hand before leaning in to kiss my lips. I could imagine I looked a little dazed when she pulled away. Bella smirked a little to herself, taking a long hit as she settled back against me. Wrapping both of my arms around her, I let my hands rest on her soft stomach.

"That's so sweet. I wish I could say something equally so about the first time I saw you," she said almost wistfully.

"That's okay," I answered with a happy little laugh. I was just happy she was there. She gave me back the joint so I took a drag.

"The first time I saw your face and knew exactly who you were, to be perfectly honest, my roommate and I had watched eight solid hours of your videos and well... I definitely masturbated thinking about you. Does that count?" She deadpanned perfectly.

It was so unexpected that I sucked in too hard and began to cough, shooting curls of smoke out of my nose and mouth. She laughed to herself. Oh yes, her and Jasper would get along _famously. _

"Dammit! And you say it so dryly, too! Christ. You did that on purpose."

She didn't look the least bit repentant. "Yeah, but it's still true."

"Well, I did too but I wasn't going to tell you that," I laughed as I gulped down my wine.

"Well, I already assumed you did. I would assume that even if you weren't interested in me romantically actually. You were definitely staring at my breasts at the tattoo shop."

She was a very smart and observant woman.

"That was so hot," I admitted to her. "I felt like a whiny cunt and then you lay there like a goddamn gangster. When you took your shirt off. _Bless._ Seth almost dropped his camera. It's my favorite part. I had so much fun. Thank God Tyler caught his reaction."

Bella giggled and blushed again. "Well, that was hot for both of us. You weren't too bad. It does hurt." She kissed my tattoo through the fabric of my shirt. It felt as if my heart was going to thunder out of my chest. "It was your first. You get used to it."

She opened herself up to questions by making the joke so I decided to go for it. "Did you really... um, play with yourself? I mean, thinking about me? After watching my videos?"

"You're so cute," she teased me as she touched my cheek. "I did... And I did after the tattoo shop in bed that night. And... in the morning in the shower afterward. And a few times in between. I literally took pictures of your ass just for me."

_Fuck…_ I remembered how easily she came on my fingers in the morning. I wanted to watch her do that to herself again. It was hard to believe how open she was. Bella certainly wasn't shy in the least. I quickly drank the rest of my wine as I flushed at her words and my thoughts.

"You're so forward."

"Is that bad?" She questioned.

"No. You're normally blunt so I shouldn't be surprised. I've never met a woman like you. Your body is too small for your personality, you know that?"

"Sounds like something you'd say about a Yorkie," she pouted a little bit and I couldn't help but giggle. I was unbelievably relaxed and buzzed.

The lights went on and off a couple of times before deciding to stay on for just a few minutes. We decided to eat since they were on. They only stayed on long enough though for us to warm up our meal.

Once again Bella began to take pictures. It pleased me so much that she was. She wanted to remember this night, just like I did. I decided to take some photos of my own. Then another idea popped into mind. I hadn't made a diary entry since Bella's first day. Most of them lately were filled with my anxiety, loneliness, and depression. For once I wanted a happy one. Without overthinking it, I began to record.

"So, it is... well, it's raining cats and dogs outside and we, the gorgeous Isabella and I are without any lights," I began in a cheesy voice. "But, fear not. We are prepared. We have candles coming out of our arses. We have torches. And we have a metric fuckton of Japanese food we bought on our way home from picking up storm supplies. Look at all that." I showed the camera the goods before focusing it on Bella. She looked incredible in the soft yellow light. "So, darling, do you want to tell us what we have today?"

"Well, first we have sushi. We have salmon and white tuna nigiri and we have salmon and tuna maki. And a shrimp tempura roll, which I'm super excited about. We also have chicken, shrimp, and steak mixed plate of teriyaki with extra vegetables because they're my favorite. Steamed and fried rice. Miso soup. Seaweed salads. And steamed dumplings because we're apparently pigs?" She pointed to everything prettily, a big smile on her plush lips

"We could have gotten more," I told her with a smirk, zooming on her pretty face.

"Just because you can doesn't mean you should. Besides, didn't you buy a bunch of desserts?" She was playfully chiding me.

"Yeah," I answered her with a silly grin before I poured us each more wine. "A toast to stormy weather," I said before I picked up my glass. Bella did the same. "Prost."

"Salud." Bella returned my smile before she took a sip. I ended the video just as she pulled the glass away from her lips, her eyes flicking up into mine.

She was perfection.

"You're a natural," I told her again. She practically glowed when she was in front of the camera. I could easily see her being a star.

"Well, I did take like two years of drama in high school or whatever," Bella replied as she tossed her hair over her shoulder playfully just to make me laugh. I had to admit that I liked how much she was showing out for me too.

"And it shows! It's probably just going to be for me though. My diary. I want to remember every detail of this night."

**This goes along with chapter 13 of IP. **

**Thanks for reading!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter thirteen-**

"I'm going to get changed for bed," Bella said before she pressed her lips lightly to mine. "I'll be right out."

I went into my room to get changed myself. I had no idea what to expect. Would she want to sleep in the other room? I hoped not. I hoped to God she wanted to sleep in my arms as she had done in the morning.

The water was icy cold as I scrubbed my face and brushed my teeth. I needed a good shave and a hot shower, but those things would have to wait. Anxiously I rearranged the sheet and blankets. I was tired but not in the least bit sleepy.

When Bella walked into my bedroom she was wearing a lovely blue nightgown that was short, cutting off well above her knees. Her curly hair was wild around her head in a black halo. She was more gorgeous than any of my fantasies and she was walking towards me with an inviting smile.

"I never imagine today would end like this. Not in a million years. Not if I thought I had a million tries. And yet, here you are," I admitted, amazed.

"I didn't know it was a possibility," she almost whispered. Neither did I.

"I'm so nervous," I blurted out, my cheeks heating as I looked down at her lovely form. "Earlier was incredible and I don't want to... _assume._ I don't want to scare you. Or rush you. We can do whatever you want. If you just want to cuddle. Or, talk. Or, sleep. Or, _whatever._"

"It was incredible. Don't worry about scaring me. I promise to let you know. I'm pretty vocal." She brought her fingers to my cheek. "And, is it rushing? Wasn't that just the longest blind date ever?" She joked.

_Oh,_ maybe she did have a point there. I was happy to play along.

"Was that our first date? That whole week? No, I'd say it was more like seven _**separate**_ dates. I mean, we slept in between. We weren't together the whole time."

"Eight, if you count Sunday night. If you're going by that logic," she continued.

"Oh, you're right. Eight. Or, is it nine now? If you count today? I wonder what the average amount of dates before a couple has sex is," I wondered out loud.

Bella lifted up on the very tip of her toes as she ran hands seductively up my arms. "We can look it up in the morning," she said almost teasingly before she pressed her lips lightly to my tattoo. I smoothed my hands over her shoulder and down to her hands, twisting our fingers together.

I couldn't wait another minute to kiss her again, taking her delicate face into my hands. It felt like the dream I had the first night she was there, but this time she didn't disappear from my grip. She held onto my arms, pressing her body fully against mine. We couldn't get any closer.

Bella was so amazingly light. I easily placed her on the bed and hovered above her so I could look down at her like this. Sweetly she began to run her fingers over my face and through my hair. A small smile played at her lips, her mismatched eyes focused on mine. I wanted to look into them for the rest of my life.

"I like the way you look at me," she whispered before she pulled me down for a kiss. Lightly she pecked and sucked at my lips before using her teeth, tugging my bottom lip gently when she pulled away.

"Well, that's the look of a man utterly enchanted," my mouth answered. My brain was somewhere else entirely.

"Try hard," she breathed sensually as she pushed down my pajama bottoms, leaving me only in my boxers.

"Get used to it," I told her before I brought her lips into a heated kiss. When I had to come up for air finally I moved to her neck. Her legs wrapped tightly around my waist again while I moved my fingers over her deliciously thick thighs. Her skin was smoother than silk. "I going to worship you."

I kissed her sweet little butterfly and all around it before kissing the place right above her heart. I could feel the pounding against my lips. It was almost perfectly in time with mine.

There was too much between us. I needed her skin on mine. My erection kept rubbing against her panties, making both of us moan and pant as we kissed for what felt for hours. I couldn't get enough and never would.

The faintest of gasps left her lips as my thumb ran up the center of her throat, gently squeezing it as I kissed all over her face. I wanted to learn what every part of her body felt against my lips. Her back arched up to my mouth as I kissed down to her full breasts.

"I left a mark," I said teasingly, kissing the spot as I did so. She clearly enjoyed it.

"Leave some more," she answered, scratching her blunt nails through my hair before pulling it. She had very quickly figure out how much I enjoyed that.

"Where?"

Wordlessly she pulled my mouth to her other breast with her fingers tightly in my hair. I bit down, making her throw her head back against the bed, her back arching once again as I squeezed her throat gently. She slid her hand over mine and brought them between her warm lips. Between the grinding, kissing, and finger sucking I felt like I was going to cum in my boxers. If I weren't careful the evening was going to be over before it even got started.

I wanted to make her feel good first.

As I kissed around her belly button I removed her underwear and tossed them away. I didn't look where. I was too eager to taste her, something I hadn't been able to enjoy earlier. She had so graciously pleasured me with her mouth and I very much wanted to return the favor. I spread her legs as I eagerly began to kiss her thighs. I could feel the trembling as my fingers moved over her skin.

_Damn_, she tasted _so_ good.

Bella was twice as reactive to my tongue as she was my fingers, her thighs wrapping around my face in exactly a way that I had fantasized about. I held them in place as my tongue rolled over her clit over and over again. I knew she was close by her moans and I wanted to feel her again. Gently I pushed two of my fingers deep inside of her hot body.

"Oh, fuck! Edward! FUCK!"

When she came it was hard, squeezing my fingers tightly as she arched off the bed. Her own fingers dug into my back and at the sheets around her.

"Eddie… fuck… Edward, oh god. Edward, please. Fuck, _yes._ Please, _Edward_," she said my name over and over again, spurring me on further and further. I wanted to shout, _yeah baby, scream my name_, but that would have required removing my mouth from her skin and that was the last thing I wanted to do.

I don't know how many times she got off but I wasn't going to stop until she told me to. She was delicious and I would never get enough. When she pulled me up to her mouth by my the hair her legs wrapped around me, our bodies crashing together.

"I'll not last very long," I admitted as she rushed to pull off my boxers. "I feel like if you touched me right, I'd explode."

"Isn't that the point?" She asked as she kissed my ear, wrapping her fingers around my cock. Lightly she rubbed me against her clit. Her wet skin felt so amazing that I couldn't keep my eyes open. It was so hard to control myself when she touched me. "You should get a condom."

I hurriedly retrieved one, sitting back on my knees while I messaged my aching erection. With a smirk, I put the condom on her stomach. I was feeling amazingly confident for once. Bella apparently enjoyed the show as well because she spread her legs open wide for me, her fingers dipping inside of her dripping wet body. I lightly brushed her fingers away before leaning forward so I could continue what she had been doing to me before, my head pressing against her clit with every pass. So badly I wanted to push my hard-on deep inside as I rubbed against her soft lips, teasing her entrance.

Her sounds of wanting were lovely and loud, her body shaking a little. I knew I could get her off like this. I could have easily gotten both of us off like that.

Bella took the condom from her stomach finally and whispered in the sweetest voice, "fuck me. _Please_," she begged quietly as she rolled it over me. I helped her push it into place before bringing her mouth into a passionate kiss that she eagerly returned as I filled her.

She was so incredibly wet, her skin red and moist with sweat as I slammed into her. I could feel it drip on my thighs with each push, spurring me on to go harder and faster. One of Bella's arms wrapped around my neck as her back arched off the bed, cumming hard around me. It felt like it went on forever until it was too much and I gave in, cursing loudly.

I felt breathless as I pressed my forehead against her beating heart. Bella held me to her soft body, stroking my hair soothingly. When I caught my breath I kissed along her butterfly again before moving up to her shoulder.

"God. _Damn,_" I finally blurted out.

"Yeah," she agreed with a laugh, bringing her hand up to her eyes.

"I really like making you cum like that," I admitted. "Can I do that... like... _all _the time?"

Bella laughed again. "My legs are vibrating. So, yes. Please. Literally fucking vibrating. What the _fuck_?"

I laughed as well, too proud of myself. I pushed my face to her chest, breathing her scent in as I smiled to myself. Lightly she pushed me so I laid on my back. She shifted, rolling onto her stomach to kiss me for a moment.

"I'll be right back," she said lightly before hopping up to go get cleaned up in the bathroom.

When she shut the door behind her I literally fist pumped the air several times I was so happy. Stopping before she could catch me being an idiot, I rushed to throw the condom away. When she got out I went in to wash my hands and face in the dark.

Much like in the morning she was waiting for me under the covers in the nude. When her body pressed against my side, skin to skin, I felt so whole. She rested her head on my shoulder, her hand laying on my chest. I fell asleep easily with the scent of her coconut shampoo in my nose.

I woke up alone, the rain still going on pretty good outside. The bathroom door was open so I decided to go search for Bella. I heard the shower going in the spare bedroom. It wasn't a terrible idea even if the water would be ice fucking cold. I needed a shower myself.

Simply rinsing my body and scrubbing my hair clean, I rushed through. So quickly in fact that I beat Bella back to the kitchen by just a few minutes, giving me enough time to check the weather again. She came padding quietly out in those tiny shorts I hoped she would wear for me and a tee shirt.

"Good morning," she said before she kissed me, her fingers moving along my jaw.

"Good morning," I practically purred. "I checked on the electricity and it's going to be out until at least later this afternoon at the earliest. When it comes back, I'd really like to take a hot shower with you because that was bloody terrible."

"Sounds like a plan." She smiled at my idea "What do you need to do today?"

"Besides you?" I replied, making her roll her eyes. "Well, I can't edit or anything. I could do a bit of writing that I was going to have to work on later this week but I'm going to have to do it the old-fashioned way. This is turning my schedule all around, the rain. It rains so little LA can barely handle it. Anyway, what about you? What do you need to get done?"

"My computer holds a charge for just a little while so I could probably get three or four hours of editing done before it dies. I'm glad I got a bit of a break yesterday. Sometimes the colors begin to blend together and everything looks the same. So, while you write I can edit? Then we can take a break for lunch," she said as her finger lightly traced over my chin to my lip. I kissed at it lightly, smiling as I nodded.

When I had told her that I was inspired the day before I wasn't lying. My good mood filled me with ideas, mostly for my scripts I was writing. I was making a kid's show for the Disney channel. The idea of a sassy little character with a sweet southern accent, full of charm and confidence, was tempting. Funny and kind. Hell, Bella was halfway to being a Disney princess all on her own.

She looked perfect on my couch, quietly working away on her computer.

I got way more work done than I expected.

Bella made us peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with chips and fruit like an old fashioned American packed school lunch. It was simple but tasty as we chatted and watched the rain. After we ate I needed to do a little reading that I had been putting off. Bella picked a book from my shelf, one about the history of England that my Grandpa George had gotten me when I was interested in it as a kid. She once again curled herself up my side.

The rain began to wane as the sun started to go down, the lights finally flickering back to life.

"Praise the Gods. Shall we freshen up and go get a late dinner?" I offered her hopefully.

"Sure, let me go get my things," she answered with a sweet smile. Her lovely hips swayed as she made her way to the guest bedroom to get her things.

I went into my bedroom, putting my phone onto charge and to get ready for our shower. To say I was excited about a hot, wet, soapy Bella was an understatement.

She came with a bag of stuff. Bella set it up on the vanity, getting organized. It apparently took many products to come out as soft and delicious smelling as she did. I probably used more than the average man but I was in the public eye.

"So," Bella said in a playful voice, tugging at my shirt. I helped her to pull it over my head. She was too short to reach. "What would you like to have for dinner?"

"I'm easy," I replied, happy to pull off her shirt. She was wearing the sports bra from the tattoo parlor. It pushed her breasts high up on her chest and tightly together, giving her rather impressive looking cleavage.

"Hey, that's my line," she teased, making me laugh. I kissed her quickly, tugging the button of her shorts free.

I yanked down her shorts dramatically. "You're not easy, Bella."

"Oh, I think you proved otherwise last night," she said flirtatiously, relieving me of my jeans. Bella moved her hand over my erection through the fabric of my boxer briefs.

"Yes, but it's better for my ego if you're not," I joked a little breathlessly.

"Sorry," she then put her head back, clearing her throat before she began to speak in her deadpan voice. "Oh, I've _never_ gotten off before. Orgasms have been a mystery to me for all these years. Until-" I grabbed her up in my arms and spun her around, making her laugh loudly. Bella pressed her face against my neck as she giggled, her fingers in my hair.

"I don't care if I'm the first, but I'd like to give you the most."

"Oo, good answer," she said into my ear.

I set her on the countertop, standing between her bare legs. "Well, it is the truth."

"I believe you," she answered as she reached behind her to undo the hooks of her bra. I helped her pull it from her shoulders, letting it drop to the floor. Leaning forward she pulled my underwear down so that my erection popped free. "Come on," Bella said as she slid to her feet in front of me before walking towards the shower. Just before she stepped in she pulled her panties off, bending over so I got a good view of her ass.

The shower was _wonderful._

Watching her apply her makeup was fascinating. She worked as if she was a skilled artist. Bella painted her eyes with a tiny brush, her hands completely steady. It always amazed me what Jasper could do with a piece of paper and a pencil, he was very talented, but I couldn't even see him being able to do so without losing an eye. Watching her roll her eyes into the back of her head was horrifying, though.

When she was done she gathered her dirty clothes while still just wearing a towel and went off to start her laundry and get changed into clean clothes for the evening.

"_How's it going with your new girlfriend?"_ Jasper had sent me a message sometime earlier in the day. I had already gotten dressed in my jeans and a blue button-down shirt as well as put on my shoes. I was just waiting for Bella to finish.

"_Well, it's the second day but I'm thinking it's going well. We just took a shower and we're about to go out for tacos." _We had somehow decided in the shower in between kisses.

"_You don't have to brag."_

I laughed to myself. "_Fuck yeah I do."_

"_Having fun?"_

"_So much. This is the happiest I've been in maybe years."_

"_That's good, darling. How's the sex?" _I laughed to myself.

"_It's part of the reason I have to brag. I got her off like ten times yesterday and if she's faking it, goddamn this girl deserves an Oscar,"_ I told him cheerfully.

He sent a gif of someone golf clapping. I sent him one back of someone bowing on a stage.

"_So she's the whole package then?"_

"_She's the one."_

When I looked up Bella was standing in the doorway of my bedroom. She was breathtaking in a little red dress and matching heels. Her smile was warm and inviting, her eyes so focused on me with her bottom lip between her teeth.

"Ready when you are," Bella said with a soft breath.

"You are stunning," I told her, making her cheeks flush. Closing the distance between us, I eagerly kissed her sugary sweet lips. "Come on, gorgeous. Let's get some dinner."

**Golf clap. **

**This goes with chapter 14 of IP :D **

**Thanks for reading!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter fourteen- **

It was beautiful and sunny when I woke up. Bella was pressed against my side, her leg hitched over my hip. I couldn't help but smile when I saw how she clung to me. It was as if she couldn't get close enough to me either. I brought my arm around her tightly.

"Good morning, handsome," she purred as she stretched her thin arms over her head before pressing herself more into my side.

"Good morning, lovely," I replied with a smile, smoothing my fingers over her scarred cheek. "You're so beautiful."

"Thank you," she blushed, pushing her face into my chest. "What do you have to do today?"

"Shooting out with the boys. All day I'm afraid. Some food places and this evening I'm getting a guided tour around the old Los Angeles zoo. It's for Halloween. It's supposed to be very haunted if you believe in that sort of thing."

"Mm, I really don't, but that sounds like a lot of fun. I love going through abandoned buildings," she told me with a sly little smile. "There is an abandoned fort in New York that Alice and I love to go hike through. If you're into the haunted stuff there are tons of great places you could film there."

"Really? I'll have to look into that," I said with a smile. I wasn't really into it, but Seth was. He had the idea for the zoo video for Halloween. It would be something I would have to see if he was interested in doing. I wasn't against exploring abandoned places though, even if I didn't believe in the ghost stories.

Bella laid so that her bare chest was pressed against mine, her chin resting on my pec as she gazed up at me. "I'll take you to the fort if you ever come to visit me. It's on a beautiful beach and you can hike to this high lookout that overlooks the ocean. And you can see all the way to Coney Island and Manhattan. It's also a fun makeout spot."

"Oh, I look forward to visiting you very soon," I grinned teasingly. "I'll bring that list of things I want you to teach me to cook."

"Mm, please do," she returned happily in a giggle.

"Would you like to take another shower with me?" I asked her hopefully.

"Sure. Just let me run to the bathroom first," she answered, pushing herself up by her arms. She leaned down to press a quick kiss to my lips before prancing off to the ladies. I smiled to myself.

I checked my phone. In the group chat, Seth had asked if we were still on for the day. I answered back quickly affirmatively and that I would see them at the scheduled time. I also put a reminder on my phone to send the canceled places emails about picking a new time.

I also sent a group message to all my sisters at once. "_I'm fine. I lost about four pints of good ice cream though. I'm very sad about it."_

"_Two days and she's the one. Really, Tony?"_ Jasper had replied to my text.

"_I've known her since the fourteenth. So, more than two days. Just… two days as a couple."_

After Bella got out, it was my turn. When I got out she was arranging the clothes she wanted to wear out on my bed. I put my arms around her from behind and lightly kissed her shoulder.

"Do you want to come along today?" I asked softly.

"Of course," she turned in my arms. "I'm ready when you are."

I happily pulled her along to my shower where we kissed under the steamy water. Our hands slipped easily over soapy bodies.

She dressed quickly before applying a thin layer of makeup. We somehow were doing fine on time so she offered to make us coffee while we waited for the boys. I certainly wasn't going to turn it down. The creamer was fine but we were going to need more soon.

Bella moved around the kitchen like a dancer as I watched from my stool by the island.

"You should see if you can do a video on the Museum of Death," she suggested suddenly. "Get a little tour."

"That is a good idea." I pulled out my phone to make a note of that as well as look into the places she was talking about in New York. NYC could be a whole gold mine of new material to explore. "I wish we could do it before Halloween."

She shrugged a little. "That kind of stuff is popular all the time. You can always do it for next Halloween, too."

"That's true," I agreed. Seth had certainly brought it up before. As if they knew I was thinking about them, they knocked before allowing themselves in.

"Well, look who's still here!" Tyler said cheerfully as he put down his equipment. His smile was huge. Smiling in return, Bella bit her bottom lip a little as her cheeks lightly flushed.

"Yeah, they canceled my flight because of the weather. But, it works out. I'm going to take a little vacation."

I realized then that we hadn't discussed whether or not we were going to be public about our relationship. Happily, I would shout my feelings from the rooftops but I would allow Bella to take the lead on that.

"Nice," Seth high fived her as he walked into the kitchen for some of her delicious coffee. "So, is Eddie letting you crash here since you're practically one of us now?"

"One of us. One of us," Tyler chimed in sarcastically. I rolled my eyes and shook my head at them.

"Yes, of course, she's staying here. She is welcome to stay as long as she pleases," I replied as I gave Tyler my keys. Someone else always drove in the mornings. He was probably the best driver of us all.

Seth flicked his eyes over to me, taking me in curiously. "So, is he putting you to work? Are you joining our little crew?"

Bella wasn't going to give them any more extra information that they were so subtly digging for. "How is this work? It's so much fun. I'm going to take pictures. But for me."

"And, of course, you can be in the videos, if you want," I added in a yawn. "I hope you'll be. If you want to be... It'll be more fun if you are. The ones I've posted with you in it have done very well so far, too."

They were doing amazingly well from what I had checked briefly before bed. I was excited to sit down and look at those numbers when I had more time. I was a nerd.

I shouldn't have been surprised how well Bella did in the cake video. Her quick little fingers made easy work of frosted roses and neat piping that the pastry chef kept praising. I obviously tested the chef's patience though. She smacked me like a naughty child more than once on the top of the hand lightly. Every time I would look into the camera and try not to laugh.

Watching Bella eat cake was the best part though. More than once we fed it to each other, the other moaning about how delicious something was and how they had to try it. I wanted so badly to kiss the chocolate away from her lips but knew I would have to be patient.

I was honestly a little nervous about the next food shoot. We had done spicy challenges before, but nothing where I would have to sign a waiver. Bella agreed to join us with a roll of her eyes, signing her name as if it was nothing. Then I thought back to the pizza place and all that red pepper she covered it with. I knew we were chatting back and forth, my mouth happy to take over while I worried about making a fool of myself in front of my new girlfriend and my jackass friends but I wasn't paying real attention to it.

The smell of heat seared my nose and made my eyes water as soon as they sat the wings down in front of us. I hated it so much.

"So, here is the challenge. You have twenty minutes to eat all ten wings without any ranch or blue cheese. If you do, you get your picture on the wall and a tee shirt. Also, you can't throw up before we take your picture," the chef had explained to Bella, Seth, and me as we sat at the gingham cloth-covered table.

Throwing up was something that happened so regularly it had to be mentioned. _Great. _

I was going to throw up in front of Bella. I just knew it.

"Antacids for everyone," I complained.

The first wing was spicy in a way that I actually liked. Just a little burn. But, I knew if the first was a good burn, it wouldn't be too long until we got to the bad burning. Seth was handling it easily enough as well. He probably liked his food a little hotter than me. I glanced over to see how Bella was doing.

She decided to start with ten and work backward. She had already finished it and was sucking the sauce from her tiny fingers.

"Oh, goddammit!" I blurted out. "That's not fair."

"What?" Seth leaned over to see what I was complaining about and opened his mouth in a wide O before gasping, "but, _why_?"

"I liked it. It made my lips feel weird." Unbothered she picked up the next wing and took a large bite of the chicken. I looked back at Seth and then to Tyler. She ate it almost daintily before taking a tiny sip of her glass of milk.

I'm not sure what was wrong with either of us, but both Seth and I, unable to control our broken male brains, tried to rush through the rest of the spiciest things I have ever put in my mouth.

All because this itty bitty woman could apparently eat straight molten lava.

We were making total asses of ourselves while she snacked like she was at a normal luncheon. She barely touched her milk. Bella finished before us even with our rushing. Probably because she didn't have to stop every ten seconds to catch her breath.

I wanted to die. I hated it. I hated myself for doing it. I hated myself even more because I knew it was going to be an amazing video and I was going to do this dumb shit to myself again. My head was buzzing and I was probably actually weirdly higher than any time I had smoked weed. My nose and eyes angrily dripped as I slowly boiled my brain from the inside because of the stupid wings.

Seth was a bitch and quit before I did though. Which was all that mattered, in my opinion. As long as I didn't give in first. What I didn't expect was for Bella to reach over for his leftovers.

"That's not okay!" I complained as I reached my milk. I greedily gulped it down. It was not enough to help.

Bella smiled into the camera as she shook her head. "_Gringo_," she teased us. "Do you use any of these sauces to make sandwiches?" She went on, proving that she was easily one hundred percent cooler than both of us and far more collected. She continued chatting with the chef but I wasn't really listening.

I was just quietly dying. Or, rather, I thought I was dying. My brain was literally screaming '_what the fuck is wrong with you_' over and over again. It made the pain of the tattoo seem mild and passing.

Then I tried the tenth chicken wing. "No. No... no. _No_. Nono." The words just came out. They kind of echoed in my ears.

I automatically grabbed for my milk, drinking it back as quickly as I could. I had never regretted putting something in my mouth more in my life. Blood rushed through my ears as I stood, making me dizzy. So dizzy, in fact, I quickly sat back down too hard.

"So, the spiciest is it like... ghost pepper? Or, is a reaper?" Bella asked casually as she smeared her fingers over the sauce left on my plate. "It feels like both so I don't know."

"Very good! It's a mix of both!" The chef practically cheered for her. This is where that time in a kitchen came in handy. Her taste buds were more attuned than mine. To me, it felt like I licked a lit grill.

It was really everything I could do to keep the food in my stomach. Getting up again, I began to pace.

"Ten out of ten would eat again with some ranch maybe next time," she said dryly as she went for my last wing.

"I'm a fucking idiot," I muttered to myself as tears dripped from my eyes as I hugged my legs. "I deserve this. Who does this to themselves?"

"It's really delicious," she said genuinely to the chef. I wanted to punch myself in the face.

"How?" I snapped at her, in serious pain. She was smirking as she passed me a tissue and pointed at my face. Of course, I knew there was snot coming from my nose. There was nothing I could really do about it. No mere tissue would fix this problem. My insides were melting and leaking out.

"Some people just... _can_?" She shrugged. Then she took another little sip of her drink as if to drive home the point that both Seth and I were big old pansies.

"Dammit, it hurts," I moaned. My chest was on fire.

"Baby, it's too early in the day to be dying over some chicken wings," she told me in her thickest, sweetest southern drawl.

"Why do I do these things to myself? What is wrong with me?"

"Because it's funny as fuck to watch us suffer?" Seth offered sarcastically as he shoved his lactose pills in his mouth. At least he was going to be suffering longer than I was.

I tried to stand up but my stomach actually pulled me down. Swallowing back the bile in my throat, I blinked back the tears that stung my eyes. "And if you want to see Seth, Tyler, and I suffer some more like this remember to like, subscribe, and fucking whatever else you have to do. Goddamn… Dude, she _destroyed_ us. What the fuck..."

"I think I might have lost my man card today," he laughed, making Bella smile.

"Yeah, I think I might have lost mine as well. Goddammit."

"Don't worry, honey. I got it in my purse. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a picture to take for a wall," my brand new girlfriend said to me sarcastically as she tossed her hair over her shoulder prettily. She pressed her lips to my cheek, her hand patting my stomach lightly before she went off to take her photo with the chef.

Tyler and Seth both laughed at my expression.

With his camera in hand, Tyler went to follow her. "She owned you," he whispered.

"Yeah, I know," I whined, slapping my chest. He handed me a thing of Tums from his pocket. He was more prepared for the day than I was. "Thanks."

"You really should hire her for the channel," Seth chimed in.

"Yeah, working on it." I sat down beside him in the chair. I drank another half glass of milk.

At the zoo, the elderly woman that was the tour guide was happy to chat with Bella about something entirely gruesome. Seth instantly got excited about it, his eyes getting big when he realized he knew what they were talking about. Of all the things they could have been discussing they were talking about a dead girl in a water tank.

Bella easily took over the conversation. I could actually see Seth bouncing in place he so enjoyed her seemingly dark knowledge. She seemed to be interested in true crime. I hadn't realized.

"How do you know so much about this?" I questioned her. My mother shielded us from anything of the sort growing up, but it's not like it was something you learned in school.

"I've read three true crime books just this week. I've probably read all of them at the New York Public Library. I borrow them on audiobook and listen to them while I edit. And I've been listening to murder podcasts for ages, too." she explained, her eyes darting down to the ground almost in embarrassment.

I loved to read. I didn't care what someone read, just that they did. Lately, I had been reading more scripts than anything else but I also enjoyed an interesting nonfiction book or a good novel.

"Which books?" The tour guide asked cheerfully, eating out of the palm of Bella's hands.

Bella tilted her head slightly to the side, thinking for a moment. "A Stranger Beside Me _again_, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and a book about Carl Panzram. I've also brought one about Ed Gein. I've listened to them all before, honestly. These are just some of my favorites."

"A Stranger Beside Me is so good, "She was so lucky."

"What's it about? You mentioned it the other day. You said it was your favorite." I had forgotten to look it up with everything else happening.

"A former cop turned crime writer who worked beside Ted Bundy on a suicide hotline. It's a true story. She never thought he was the killer even after talking to the police, telling them that he had the same car as the killer... He seemed too nice. He was a monster, of course. He killed forty-something women," she explained without hesitation.

The woman beamed at Bella. "You seem very well-educated about true crime history!"

She looked down at her feet again. "Thanks... I _think._ I've always been a little obsessed with death. I grew up within sight of the cemetery my mom and grandparents are buried and I went all the time. I'd sit at my mom's grave. Pick all the wildflowers in the fields around it and cover it completely. Spend hours and hours talking to the graves. I was a dark kid, too."

_Poor wounded bird,_ Jasper's words from before echoed in my ears. I couldn't help but reach out to comfort her, my hand moving over her back before brushing away her silky hair. She gave a small smile as she leaned her head against my shoulder.

And then the crazy old bat decided to ask, "was your mother murdered?"

I gaped like a fish, looking towards my friends. Both of their eyes were wide like mine, totally shocked that anyone would ask that, let alone on camera!

Bella gasped out a nervous laugh, "no, ma'am. I'm not _that_ dark. I've just always been followed by death."

"Nope. Not dark at all," I mumbled.

Thankfully it was time to move along with the tour and talk about less depressing things. Like ghosts.

Seth had been watching us closely all day. His eyes moved between us as he walked backward towards the car in the parking lot. He was going to fall and hurt himself. He wagged his finger. "So… You two. You a thing or what?"

A thing. I actually scoffed. It was far more than that already. Nothing that involved Bella would be just a _thing. _

"Probably not now that I've revealed my creepy pastime," she replied in a small giggle.

"Damnit," he muttered to himself as he pulled out a twenty dollar bill and passed it to a grinning Tyler.

"What?" She looked between them. My eyes narrowed on an annoyed Seth.

"I bet you two would get together before you left," Tyler explained cheerfully. "And you haven't left yet. See, I told you they liked each other."

"I never disagreed about that. Just about whether it would happen or not," Seth answered him as he turned around once we got to the car. They had to stop at the boot to put the camera equipment away. I went to open the door for my new lovely girlfriend.

"You're betting on my love life? Some friends you are," I said as I snatched up the keys. "That doesn't seem very nice."

"I just figured she was too good for you," Seth smirked.

"Oh. Well. Yes. You're not wrong," I answered instantly.

Bella quickly shook her head. "He is. You are wrong. I'm not too good for anyone."

"No, I'm okay with being unworthy," I told her honestly. I knew for sure she was out of my league completely and was thrilled she was giving me even the time of day.

Carefully, I brought her hand up to my lips to kiss her delightfully soft skin. A smile formed at the corners of her lips even as she cheeks heated under my adoring gaze.

The entire drive home her small hand rested on my thigh, contentedly looking at the window. I was pretty happy with the world myself.

**Hehehe I love the wings video. **

**This goes along with chapter 15 of IP :D If you go back to reread, let me know! It makes me so happy!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen- **

It was just after eight in the evening when we were finally alone again after our long day of shooting. Bella pressed her soft body against mine as her arms snaked around my waist.

"How are you?" She asked me curiously, looking up at me with her lovely mismatched eyes that made my heart skip a little beat.

"Good. Happy. You?"

"Same. Would you like to order some dinner tonight or is your stomach still upset?" She said teasingly.

"I'll be fine," I mumbled, pouting a little bit. "As long as dinner isn't spicy."

"That's probably a good idea." She wrinkled her nose a little bit and smiled. I pushed her hair behind her ear before pulling her into a quick kiss. Her fingers twisted into my hair, holding me into place. "Is there anything you need to do tonight?" She asked as her nose brushed against mine.

"Well, there is always editing I have to do," I admitted. "But, I think that can wait until later."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." I grinned down at her.

"I don't mind," she said sweetly. "We can both edit some while we wait for dinner."

"You mean you wouldn't prefer to share a bottle of wine and a smoke while we wait?" I asked her in a teasing voice, leaning down to press kisses along her jaw. She moaned softly, tilting her head back to give me better access.

"Okay, yeah. I think I would prefer that," she giggled, her fingers curling around my shirt as she pulled herself closer to my body. "It probably says something about me, how effective that line is."

"Mm," I chuckled. "I think it would be pretty effective on a lot of people. Me being one of them. You have used it on me, after all. Honestly, I could use weed and wine to get my best mate to do anything I wanted, too."

"Oh, my god. Mine too," Bella giggled again, pulling away from me. "So, why don't you think of a couple of places you'd like to eat and pick us out a bottle of wine? I'm going to get more comfortable."

"That's a lovely idea," I agreed. Following her to the spare bedroom, I swatted her ass as I left her to go get changed into my sleep pants myself and get the joints for us to share.

I opened us a bottle of chilled white wine, pouring us each a large glass. When Bella came out, she was dressed in a comfortable cotton nightgown. It hung loosely on her body, but it was easy to see she had removed her bra. I couldn't help but smile whenever I saw her.

"So, what do you think… Greek or Italian?" I offered her the glass of wine I had made for her.

"Mm, Greek sounds delicious," she hummed, taking a sip before offering me her hand. "Let's sit outside. It's a beautiful night."

Bella sat on my lap as we looked at the menu together, drinking and smoking comfortably. I loved watching her smoke entirely too much, the way her lips kissed the smoke into the air in long twisting curls.

When dinner finally came, we ate at the table. She was so incredibly easy to talk to and always ready to give me a warm smile and a soft giggle. Speaking to her made me feel like all my stress was just melting away.

"So, what shall we do now?" I asked her, taking her hand across the table after we were done eating.

She bit her lip before standing, tugging me to my feet as well before silently walking us towards my bedroom. I wrapped my arms around her from behind and pressed my lips to her neck. I spent several long minutes lavishing it with attention.

"I want you," she whispered quietly, her eyes sinking close in pleasure as my lips moved over her ear. Bella's fingers slid into my hair, holding me in place there. I loved when she said those words.

"Tell me what you want me to do." I moved my hands from her stomach to her thighs. Slowly pulling the cottony black fabric up with my fingers, I bunched it in my fists. "Tell me what to do to make you feel good."

"Use your fingers," she breathed, her cheek pressed against mine.

Sliding one hand up with her gathered gown, I slipped my other hand back up her thigh and in between her legs. She hummed quietly, leaning her head back against my chest as I gently massaged her through her thin panties.

"You get so wet," I said with a smile against her cheek, kissing it lightly.

"Just being around you turns me on so much," Bella whispered as she brushed her nose against mine. "The way you feel and taste, how you touch and kiss me. Even the way you look at me," she gasped as I began to rub a little harder. Her words naturally spurred me on. I couldn't imagine her being as turned on by me as I was by her. But the way her body reacted it was hard to deny.

"Edward," she moaned my name as she bucked against my hand. "Eddie, I'm going to fall. Maybe we should move to the bed," Bella said in a breathless giggle.

"I won't let you, I promise." I tightened my arm around her just as my other hand slipped into her now soaking underwear. "I have you."

"Oh," she drew out, her thighs quivering as she easily came. I smiled like a maniac. The ability to do that to her boosted my ego a million percent. If I could do nothing else well in life, I wanted to be a master of this. I wanted to learn every single way to get her off and do them to all to her a billion times over. "Fuck me," she begged as her orgasm still twitched deep inside of her. "_Oh_, I want you to fuck me hard."

I yanked the gown over her head roughly, finally turning her around so I could wildly kiss her mouth. My wet fingers slid to her ass underneath her panties, gripping her cheek roughly. She moaned against my mouth, working her panties off her hips quickly.

My shirt and pants made it to the floor as I walked her back towards the bed. Lifting her up easily, I quickly pulled a condom from the box.

Being inside of Bella was the best feeling I had ever had. Warm, wet, tight. I felt complete, my heart frantically beating with excitement and fantastic pleasure. She moved and rocked with me, meeting my efforts with her own, doubling the sensation. When I opened my eyes hers were looking up into mine, adoring and bright.

Her kiss, sweet and tempting, brought me to my finish.

"That is, without a doubt, the best way to end a perfect day," she grinned up at me, her fingers smoothing over my jaw.

"I couldn't agree with you more."

Once again my gorgeous girlfriend fell asleep in my arms, completely nude. I fell asleep as well, but I didn't stay that way. It was three in the morning when the rain started. Bella was sleeping on her side, curled close to me. I tried to relax but found that I couldn't. Since I didn't want to bother her, I found my underwear and grabbed my phone before heading into the office.

It was probably a good thing I had woken up, I had forgotten to set my alarm. I had been too distracted by wine, weed, and my woman. It was actually really nice.

Several reminders were waiting for me. First and most important was my meeting with Disney the following day. I had forgotten all about it. It was just a brainstorming session with some of the directors for the Disney Channel. We were working on putting a show together. I had created several characters and written a few scripts already. I had actually gotten a lot of work done the day the electricity was off. I wasn't exactly worried, but I wasn't really looking forward to spending the whole day without Bella. I wasn't sure how much time I was going to get with her, and I didn't want to waste a second. But there was no getting out of this.

Since I was awake, I sent several work emails including rescheduling the shoots I missed due to the rain. Then I quickly put together a rough cut of the wings video for Jasper to watch. I sent him that first along with all the raw footage of the day. At five in the morning, I finally began to feel sleepy again.

Bella was still asleep, curled up comfortably in the middle of my big bed. I carefully slid in beside her, brushing my fingers over her arm. Without waking up she brought her hand into mine, twisting our fingers together. Lightly I brought her knuckles up to my lips to kiss before adjusting the blanket around both of us. Once again I found sleep.

I woke up alone again, my alarm gently singing to me. The rain was still falling, but it was slow and relaxing. The bathroom was empty. I went towards the spare bedroom but realized that the door to my little gym was just barely cracked open and I could hear one of the machines going.

Inside I found Bella in a pair of yoga pants and a sports bra, covered in sweat as she moved at a decent speed on my elliptical.

"Hello."

"Hi. I didn't wake you, did I?" She asked, not pausing as she looked at me.

"No, I have to get up earlier today because I have a meeting to go to this afternoon."

"Exciting," she panted.

"It is. It's with Disney. It's supposed to run all day though. I forgot to talk to you about it last night. I meant to. I got distracted." I smiled to myself as I thought about why I had gotten distracted, leaning against the door frame as I did. All I wanted to do was spend the morning with her, alone.

"What time is the meeting?"

"Eleven to Five or Six."

She finally stopped, carefully stepping off the machine before moving towards me. I closed the distance, pulling her towards me so that I could kiss her a good morning. Even her sweat tasted good when it was on her lips.

"Let me shower, and I can make you some breakfast."

I pulled back slightly to look at her. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely," she said with a sweet smile before giving me another salty kiss.

There was no way to describe how good Bella made me feel. She made me feel wanted and cared for. When I was with her, I felt more confident, and I wanted to do my best for her. My mask didn't feel so suffocating around her. It's as if she made me feel more comfortable in my own skin, so it fit better too.

"I wish I could take you with me to my meeting today."

She ran her fingers over my cheek. "That's okay. You'll do amazing. And, I'll go out and have some alone time."

"What will you do?"

"I'll go do a little shopping. Go to the grocery store and pick up some more milk. Do you need to do anything tonight?" She questioned me lightly as her fingers moved over the now itchy tattoo.

"Nope." I kissed the top of her head. I could always edit later when I was alone again. I would be spending enough time away from her, working. I nuzzled her still sweet smelling hair. I wanted to breathe her in so deeply, even like this. Bella sighed in contentment.

"I'll make us dinner tonight then."

"That sounds so lovely. Thank you," I whispered before bringing her into another kiss. She held me close, allowing me to taste her until we were both breathless.

"I need to work out, too. I need to head out in a couple of hours."

"Okay. I'm going to go ahead and shower then I'll start us something to eat," Bella replied as she pulled away.

I was grinning like a fool as I hurriedly changed into some workout clothes. I rushed through an intense routine. I had been ignoring exercise as much as possible over the past week, but I wanted to look as fit as possible for Bella. She was obviously very healthy herself, and I wanted to be able to keep up as best as possible.

By the time I finished and cleaned up, Bella had a gorgeous meal ready for us. A colorful fruit salad, scrambled eggs topped with cheese, toast with strawberry jam, and fresh coffee to drink.

"I'm going to be terribly spoiled to this cooking thing you're doing."

"You're so easily impressed," she replied with a roll of her eyes, her hips swaying as I followed her with the coffee pot and almost empty creamer. She set the plate with the larger amount of food in the spot where I usually sat before sitting down in her seat.

"I don't think I've ever had anyone make breakfast for me that wasn't related to me or paid to. Well, maybe Jasper. My mate. But not a woman, I mean," I admitted to her. Jasper was actually a pretty good cook if he ever got the time. He didn't do anything fancy, but he had mastered breakfasts. We had perhaps eaten too many pancakes for dinner in our time as roommates together.

Bella had brought a stack of sales papers to the table to read while she was eating. "That's sad. What kind of relationships have you been in?"

We had discussed her marriage more than we had any of my relationships. I had been in one long term adult relationship, but I had to be honest with her.

"I've only had two girlfriends actually. One was in Secondary. Like a high school for you Americans. So you can imagine we weren't really waking up together all that often. Or, at all," I laughed a little in embarrassment, "and the girl I was with the longest, didn't cook a damn thing ever. And, that was for the best. She'd seriously fuck up toast."

Vicky liked her toast burnt to a blackened crisp. I found it rather revolting that she liked to basically eat charcoal. But, to each their own.

"Cooking is not that hard." Bella shook her head. "How is it?"

Well, it wasn't like I could cook a damn thing either.

"So good. Thank you," I said through a bite of food. She rolled her eyes a little and smirked at me over her mug of coffee.

She quietly ate her fruit for a little while, finishing her coffee and making another. Bella had a slight smile spread over her lips as she looked at the contents of the catalog, occasionally chewing on her bottom lip. I enjoyed watching her.

"You look like a child wistfully looking at the Christmas toys catalog."

Blushing a little, she answered, "only a little bit. I love all this junk. It's stupid. I'm so sucked into the packaging and the colors. I used to collect makeup, back in the day. Both new stuff and old vintage compacts and lipsticks, stuff like that. After Aiden, I didn't feel like doing it anymore. I got very minimalist and gave a lot of my things away to friends and family. Now, looking at it, I wonder how I spent that much money on it. I still want it all," she laughed a little, "but I won't get it. It's nice to imagine though."

"Why not get a few things?"

"I don't normally go out that much. I only wear makeup for professional reasons, and the basics cover that. What I have now is just fine. But, there is this little part inside of me that goes '_oh, it's pink and purple with glitter and look, it has a cute little raspberry case_.' And this kind likes to make their stuff smell like food so it might actually smell like raspberries," she replied thoughtfully as she showed me the page. I made a mental note of the brand name to look at for later. Surely none of it was all that expensive. It was just makeup. I figured I could probably pick her out a few things she would like.

"So, what is that exactly? How does it smell like food?" I asked curiously.

"Eyeshadow. They have this whole line that smells like chocolate because it's made with real cocoa powder. And now for Christmas, they have a gingerbread cookie and a sugar cookie scents eyeshadows. And lipsticks, too. One of my good friends used to be a makeup artist and used the chocolate one on me a few times. He had people sniff my eyelids all day," she giggled. "_Girl, don't she smell like a brownie_," Bella said in a funny accent that made me grin.

"You have a bit of money now if you wanted to treat yourself," I reminded her, pointing to the phone beside her.

"I'm going to treat myself to paying off some bills. I should pay some bills today as a matter of fact. I have a few other adult things to do. Like I need to buy my ticket home."

The thought of her going home made me instantly sad. "I wish you didn't have to."

Bella's eyes dimmed a little though she forced a smile. "Me too, but I have things I have to do. Promises I have to keep."

"Can I talk you into staying until a day or two after Halloween? It's my favorite holiday. Or, one of. Anyway, we could do something together. Maybe go out," I started right away, thinking of any excuse to make her stay longer. She had told me a week, but I wanted more time than that. I needed it.

I needed Bella.

She gave a little sigh as she pulled up the calendar app on her phone. Bella pursed her lips, thinking to herself. I saw that she had several events marked it on it but not a lot in the following week.

"Friday the second?" She asked, looking up at me.

"Please? If you do, I'll buy your ticket, and you can save your gift card to come to see me whenever you want. Like… on my birthday," I said hopefully after I finished my drink. Bella automatically began to make me another.

"When is your birthday?"

"The twenty-third of November."

"Oh…" She instantly looked a little sad. "That's the day after Thanksgiving. I've already made plans with my friends and that Saturday I'm doing a charity show at my friend's theater that he runs. The former makeup guy I was just mentioning, actually. It's for LGBTQ youth. I do it every year. I wish you could come to Thanksgiving and stay with me. You could meet all my friends."

Being covered in rainbows was not enough to convince me that Bella was perhaps bisexual, though it wouldn't have surprised me with her being such a free spirit. But, doing an annual fundraiser for gay kids? I think Jasper was probably right. I decided I would let her tell me when she was ready. It didn't matter to me if she was or not. I adored Bella, and I would love that part of her as well.

"Is that an invitation?" I asked her seriously. "You've already said your Thanksgivings were out of this world. And, well… I believe you." I had yet to make any plans for my birthday. I had merely taken the week off and planned to try sleeping for most of it. In all likelihood, I would end up spending it editing. I liked the idea of going to New York much better.

Without much hesitation, she said, "you know what? Yes, it is. I'd love it if you came to Thanksgiving."

I felt as if my face was going to split open I was smiling so hard. "Fantastic. I don't know what I'm working that week, but I'm taking the following week off. I'd like to spend it with you. If that's alright with you, of course."

"That sounds really nice.".

"So, the second, then?" I asked just to make sure. She nodded, smiling back at me just as happy as I felt. "Oh, brilliant. Thank you. I'll work out the ticket for you today. What time do you want to fly? Afternoon? Not too early?"

Though I didn't want her to leave, I was eager to keep my promise to her and give her the nicest flight possible. I could easily have Zafrina arrange that with a simple text message.

"Sounds good," she breathed, her eyes glancing up to mine as she brought her thumb to her mouth for just a moment subconsciously.

"Alright. Yes. Perfect. Okay." I quickly stood, finally remember that I needed to work that day. "I need to go. I don't want to be late. Do you need anything before I leave?"

"No, I'm good," she assured me with a small smile. "I'm going to wash up and go out, too."

"Okay." I brought my hand to her silky hair as I pressed my lips to hers. They tasted amazing, like fruit candy. "Mm, you have sugar on your lips." I kissed her again and again until she dissolved into giggles beneath my touch. "Have a good day."

"Good luck at your meeting."

"Oh, I won't need luck. It's just a brainstorming session, and I am prepared," I answered with more confidence than I actually felt. Once again as she gazed at me, I felt as if she saw through my mask. "Text me if you need anything. I'll have my phone on me all day," I promised.

The entire drive to the Disney offices I talked myself up in my head.

An assistant was waiting for me as soon as I stepped into the building. "Hi! Mr. Cullen. I'm sorry, but there has been a slight change of plans for today."

I instantly got excited that I could maybe just turn around and go home before Bella went out for the day. Or perhaps I could meet her wherever she was going.

"Well, we can always reschedule," I replied with a charming smile.

"Actually, Mr. Howard was hoping to speak with you."

Mr. Charles Howard was one of the executives over the animated movie department. He was a big deal. I hadn't spoken to him before, and I wasn't even sure how he even knew my name. I was just some small time writer and voice actor in their television department.

"Okay," I answered slowly, my nerves increasing a thousandfold.

I followed the young woman to Mr. Howard's office. She knocked once before pushing it open, briskly walking inside with me following behind. An older man in his fifties was sitting behind the desk, his shiny bald head reflecting the early afternoon light. Two other gentlemen were also in the office.

"Hello!" He said cheerfully, coming to stand so he could shake my hand.

"Hello, Mr. Howard. May I ask what do I owe the pleasure today?" I asked, putting on my business mask. I had a feeling it was time to become Edward again. Then I saw something familiar on his desk. It took all my will to stay calm and not start dancing and crying like a teenage girl at a concert.

There was a currently nameless movie script I had written and given to the director of the television show I had been working on sitting squarely in the middle of his clean desk. I had told the director about it, and he said he was interested in reading it. He was in the movies as well so I figured it wasn't a terrible idea. He could at least give me good advice. I had given it to him months before but never expected this.

"Well, Mr. Cullen-" He began.

"Call me Edward." I beamed. "Please."

Mr. Howard grinned. "Edward, I had something exciting come across my desk very recently. Do you know that is?" He asked, motioning for me to take a seat across from him.

"Mm, why don't you tell me?" I flicked my eyes down at the desktop. "I have a wild imagination, and we could be here all day."

He laughed at my cheesiness and oozing charm. "Oh, just Disney's next blockbusting, record-breaking, billion-dollar property," he answered as he sat. He picked up my script. "I want this movie made, and we've already got a lead star in mind, Edward."

"Seriously?" I asked excitedly. "Who?"

"You, young man. I've been paying attention to your work since I read this thing. I'm very impressed. All of my friends who have worked with you are equally impressed. I've been making calls. I keep hearing the same thing. You're the next big thing, and I think they're right, Edward. Now, how would you like that? How would you like to be Disney's next star?"

A million things rushed through my brain at once. I was overwhelmed with excitement, but I knew I couldn't let it show. I was literally bursting at the seams.

"Well, of course, I'd have to take a look at your offer with my manager and my lawyer, but it is certainly something I'd be interested in. But, there is something I'd like to make clear…"

"What's that?" He asked curiously.

"I'd like to have as much creative control as possible. I worked on this script for a year. It's very personal to me, and I want it to be the best version of itself as possible," I informed him firmly.

"That is certainly something we both want," Mr. Howard replied as he nodded his head. "Why don't you go ahead and call your manager up here? Maybe we can work out some basic contracts today."

**This goes with chapter 16. There is going to be a second part of his POV of 16. It expands the night after the wings shoot and adds a lemon. I figured she would highlight every time and certain times would stand out to them differently. **

**Thanks for reading! **


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen-**

Three hours later I walked out of the offices a much richer man.

My hands were shaking when I got into the car. It was just after two in the afternoon. I called the first person I could think of.

"Hello? Tony?" Jasper answered his cell phone quickly. It was pretty early in the morning there, but he was probably at work. He worked at a local news station in Sydney.

"Hi," I breathed out, my voice shaky.

"Are you okay? Did something happen?"

"Um… I sold my movie," I said in a bit of hysterical laugh, tears beginning to form in my eyes. "I… I just sold my script to Disney, and they want me to be the star."

"FUCK YES!" He shouted and laughed. I could tell he actually jumped up and down for me. "HELL YEAH! Yes, you fucking sold a script to Disney, you talented bastard! I am so fucking proud of you!"

I laughed at his reaction. "This is… This is everything I ever wanted. This is everything I've ever dreamed about. Holy shit! HOLY SHIT!" I began to freak out as it fully set in what was happening. "I AM GOING TO BE SO FUCKING RICH! HAHA! I'll be able to do whatever the fuck I want after this. I could retire and just spend the rest of my life surfing and making dumb shit videos for fun!"

"So, what are you going to do, huh? How are you going to celebrate? Have you told your new girlfriend yet?"

"No," I laughed, smiling as I leaned my head back against the headrest. "No, you're the first person I called. She went out shopping. I don't know what we'll do. She said she was going to make dinner tonight, but maybe I'll take her out instead. Oh, goddamn! I am so fucking happy right now," I told him as I wiped the tears away from my eyes.

"I can imagine!" He chuckled. "It's been a good week for you."

"It's been the best damn week of my life. It feels… It feels like the universe just went '_here's everything you could ever want in this life! Enjoy!'_ Just all at once," I laughed.

"So, which is the best part? The girl or the money?" He asked me teasingly.

"The girl," I said without hesitation. "Man, I would go get her an engagement ring right now and ask her to spend the rest of our lives together if I thought she'd say yes. It would just be the icing on the cake."

He clicked his tongue. "Please don't, darling."

"She wouldn't say yes. She's more practical than that," I chuckled, taking in a deep breath. "Thankfully. One of us has to be, but I do want to buy her something."

"Flowers?" He asked me curiously.

"Actually, I have a better idea. She was showing me this makeup catalog this morning at breakfast. She said she used to collect that kind of stuff but hasn't in a while. She said she wouldn't buy it for herself, but it was obvious that she liked it."

"Oh, that's perfect then," he agreed. "Ladies do like their cosmetics. Sounds more interesting than flowers anyway. Longer lasting."

"I'm sure I'll get her some of those soon too. I know she likes to take pictures of flowers. She loved the ones at the zoo."

"I am so glad things are going so well for you right now," my best friend told me warmly.

"I wish you were here so we could all go out and celebrate together," I said honestly. "You were the first person I thought to call for this exact reason. Thank you… Thank you for being such a wonderful and supportive friend. I miss you. I miss you so goddamn much."

"Oh _darling_," he sighed. "I miss you, too. I do. I wish I were there too. You don't know what that means to me when you say that."

"You could take my job offer," I told him. "You could come here to LA, and we could make those dumb shit videos together for the rest of our lives."

He sighed again, "I wouldn't feel right taking your money."

"I'd make you earn it," I promised him. He chuckled.

"I doubt it. Look, I got to get back to work. Go buy your old lady some face paint. I'm sure she'll love it."

"Yeah. Hopefully. Alright, mate. Text me later. Have a good day, yeah?"

"Yeah. Love you, darling. Congrats," he said before hanging up on me. I chuckled again, taking a deep calming breath.

The catalog was from a large makeup store. After some googling, I went to the nearest one. As soon as I walked in two saleswomen descended upon me eagerly.

"Hi, how can we help you today?" One of them chirped. The other just nodded, standing beside her with a big black mesh shopping bag. I must have looked like a big ol' target. But that was fine though.

"Actually, you can. You see I'd like to buy a gift for a woman. But she's not just any woman, I'm pretty sure she's the love of my life, and I have literally just had the best day of my career so I'd like to spoil her. I have a general idea of what I'd like to get her, but I'm sure I'm going to need some help picking it out."

"What are you looking to get?" The other girl asked me.

"Everything. Anything she could possibly need to feel pretty. She showed me a certain brand that she really liked. Something… Face."

"Too faced?" The first asked.

"That's the one!"

"So, you want to get her everything for a full face of makeup? Do you know what shade of foundation she'd want?" One of them asked.

"Um…" I drew out and smiled awkwardly. "I have a few pictures of her if that helps?"

"We can work with that," the second girl answered as she took my phone to look at the pictures I had of Bella. I had taken loads, some when she hadn't realized I was taking. Off while she was sitting by the pool, looking off into the sunset or cooking in the kitchen while I watched. "Oh, she's pretty! Look" she showed the other girl. "Just Too Faced?"

"I know she's interested in that brand for sure, but it doesn't just have to be that one, I suppose. She did mention that she loved the ones that smell like food."

"Oh, I know what she wants." She started walking towards a section to one side of the store. She showed me a Christmas display. I picked up one of everything on it. The girl with the bag passed it to me. "There's is even more over here if you want to get her something else."

"How about this? You two pick out everything you would buy if money were literally no object. Like I said, I had the best day of my career, and this woman deserves the world."

"Seriously?" The first saleswoman asked.

"Absolutely."

"If you're really interested in doing that, may I suggest signing up for a credit card? You get points for your purchases, and you get twenty percent off your entire first purchase."

"Sounds perfect. Hook me up."

"Does she like colors or is she into nudes?" One of the girls asked me.

"She's all about the rainbows," I grinned.

"Oo…" One of the girls looked excitedly at the other. "I know exactly what we should get her. So, like I'm going to pick out all the absolute fan favorites and-" she went on and on. I was happy to let her go. They both looked like they were having fun.

They asked every time they picked out something, but they quickly learned that I wasn't going to say no to any of it. I knew I was spending thousands and I didn't care at all. It was merely a drop in the bucket now. And I knew in my heart that Bella wouldn't buy herself anything this nice and I wanted her to have beautiful things. I also wanted her to wear it all for me.

Besides, if she was going to be my girlfriend, eventually she was going to join me on a red carpet. I hoped anyway.

Just as I finished up at the store, I received a text from Bella.

"_I forgot to get your key code."_

I smiled to myself. At least I knew she was going to be home soon too. _"I'm sorry. I forgot to tell you. It's 10051985." _

"_That's my birthday?"_

"_Your birthday is May 10__th__, 1985?" _ That was my sister's birthday. I was a little surprised.

"_No, October 5__th__, 1985." _She answered back right away. It was only a couple of weeks after my mother's. I had sent her, along with Sasha, a print of her work.

I was a little sad to have missed her birthday since it was so recent, but at least I had an excellent present to make up for it.

"_Oh, that's right. It's backward here. It's one of my sister's birthdays. One of the middle ones. Sasha. I figured my birthday was too obvious, so I always use one of my sister's birthdays instead_."

"_It's going to be easy for me to remember," _Bella replied.

I would have been home much sooner if traffic wasn't such a bitch. I was stuck behind a wreck for an hour almost. When I pulled into the garage, my window was rolled down, and I could smell something delicious wafting through the air. It smelled of steak almost.

Suddenly as the smell hit me, I became overwhelmed.

It smelled good because a woman I cared about and that cared about me was cooking for me. Without having to be asked or paid, she wanted to. This was her way of spoiling me, and I wasn't even sure she knew she was doing it. At that moment, I knew that's what I wanted to come home to every night. To my beautiful Bella. Knowing that I would be able to share this day with her made it a million times better.

I wanted to cry again.

Before I went in, I decided to make a quick diary enter.

"It is October twenty-five, 2018. It's mid-afternoon and-" I stopped, smiling too much as I sniffled. "Fuck, I am so goddamn happy. I feel like I'm getting things I didn't even ask for. All I ever wanted was to be in a Disney movie, and I got that today, and it's even one that I wrote, and the best part is that there is a beautiful woman in there who I can't wait to share this with." I laughed, leaning my head back. "_Fuck!_ I did it. How? How did I get so fucking lucky?" I took several deep breaths. "Okay. Fuck. Okay. Ha. Let's go surprise sweet Bella. Hopefully, she likes her belated birthday gift."

Bella was sitting on the couch with earbuds in and was quickly typing away. I placed the orange bag of goodies behind the sofa to give to her later. Quietly I put my arms around her before pressing my lips to her temple. She jumped in surprise before melting into my arms.

"You're home early. Is that good or bad?" She asked gently as she smoothed her palm over my forearm.

"Very good." I couldn't help my wild smile as I pushed her hair away from her eyes so I could kiss more of her delightfully soft skin.

"Let me just finish sending these picture to Al, and you can tell me all about it," she told me just before kissing my fingertips that she brought to her lips.

I knew exactly what we needed. Champagne.

"Don't rush. It smells so good in here," I complimented her skills. I didn't know exactly what it was, but I knew I was going to love every bite.

"I hope you like it. It's roast beef. It won't be done for a while though. I wasn't expecting you yet."

"That's okay. I haven't had a roast in ages. Sounds perfect," I said to her as I found the wine glasses. I didn't have champagne flutes, but these would certainly do.

I made quick work of the cork as she finished whatever task she was doing. Bella turned when she heard me open the bottle, a small smile spreading on her lips. She closed her laptop.

"It was a really good meeting."

I passed her a glass.

I took a deep breath. "I just sold a script to Disney. They're going to make my animated full-length movie and not only will I have part of the creative control, but I will also be doing the lead character. I'll get a huge cut of everything. The movie. The toys. Future movies and shows. The clothes. _Everything_."

Bella face instantly lit up for me, her eyes getting huge as she threw herself at me."What?! Why didn't you tell me that's what you were going to do?! This is so big! Oh, my god! How exciting, Edward!"

"I didn't know!" I laughed at her pure joy. It's exactly how I felt. "I gave it to them on a fluke a couple of months ago when they first did my contract. I was just supposed to work on a brainstorming session for a television show for the Disney Channel today, but they wanted to talk to me about this instead. They kind of blindsided me. They loved it though! They're talking about a 2022 release day. It's so soon! We've already got some tentative paperwork in place. I just need to let Zafrina and my lawyer look over the contract."

Then she kissed me, breathtaking and deep. She poured all of the passion she had into it. I didn't know how she had so much in her tiny body.

"I'm so happy for you!" She gushed.

Before we made a giant mess, I took the glass from her and placed them both on the side table. Then I grabbed her face and showed her all _my_ passion. She laughed as we fell back onto the cushions, her fingers in my hair as she held our kiss. Wrapping her legs around me, she pulled me as close as she could to her body.

"I am literally euphoric," I told her honestly, letting out a nervous laugh. Tears prickled at my nose, and I took in a deep breath in an effort to hold them in. I couldn't though, so I hid my face in her neck. She let me, her fingers gently soothing me. "I'm so glad you're here so I can share it with you."

"You're such a darling," she breathed as she kissed my forehead lightly. She used Jasper's pet name for me unknowingly, and I don't think she knew how special it actually made me feel. "What do you want to do to celebrate?"

"This. Exactly this," I said as I rolled beside her so not to crush her. She instantly brought her head to my chest, her hand going to hold mine as it laid on my stomach. I couldn't stop my tears. "I'm so overwhelmed right now."

"I can only imagine. But, you are going to be so amazing! You are so talented and funny. It's going to be great," she praised me so sincerely, her glowing eyes looking into mine. I leaned my forehead against hers before nodding and taking another breath. I needed to calm down before I openly sobbed in front of her and couldn't stop.

I don't think she would have judged me for it, but it's not something I wanted to do either way.

"We shouldn't forget about our champagne," Bella finally said when I had calmed, a small smile still on her pretty lips.

"Oh right!" I laughed as I finally came to sit up. I had forgotten about them.

Much like the night of the storm, Bella curled herself against my side with her glass in hand. She put her head on my shoulder, and I wrapped my arm around her as tightly as I could.

"How was your day?" I finally asked when my brain started to function again.

"It was not nearly as exciting as yours. I just went to the mall. Got some food for tonight and tomorrow and started dinner. I made a mousse for dessert. I talked to Al and told her about you and Thanksgiving."

"I hope she likes me," I replied honestly. I hoped all of her friends liked me. She had said that they all loved her late husband and I could only hope I lived up to whatever standards he set.

"Oh? Al? She is friends with every single person she meets. She is the most agreeable person on the planet. She's actually a therapist by training. And she's pretty great at it. She was the only one brave enough to be friends with me in first grade despite my grandma being the scary lunch lady and my big scary scar. Came up at recess on the second day of school I was there, told me that everyone else was scared of Mamaw, but she didn't care. She liked my big hair, weird eyes, cool scar and let me copy her homework." Bella smiled a little wistfully at the memory.

She had called her Al, but certainly, that wasn't her name. "How does one become an Al? Alexandra? Alana?"

"Mary Alice Brandon."

"That sounds very southern."

She tilted her head up to look at me. "She's Cajun, actually. Her twin sister is named Rosalie. I thought it was so awesome when my best friend came with a bonus best friend with the exact same face."

I laughed at her words, "I can see why that would make someone happy. Bonus besties. Are you all still close?"

"Yeah. Rose and her husband live in New York, too. In Coney Island. They'll be at Thanksgiving. They're both lawyers. Rosalie is in family law and Emmett, her husband, is an immigration lawyer. They're really great. They're both so kind and generous. They both give a lot of pro bono work for CFA, the non-profit. Emmett was one of the first volunteers we had that wasn't a family member. It's how they met."

"What a wonderful way to meet someone. They sound like lovely people."

"They are. It's like having two sisters and a brother now. I'm so glad Ms. Lettie, their mom, took me in. She's always been so accepting. They've all been so good to me. I can't imagine having a better family." She was dejected for a moment. "Normally she'd be in town too for Thanksgiving, but she's going to spend it with her stepfamily in Texas. She feels really bad about it, but both Alice and Rosalie are relieved. She's a handful." She smiled again. "They're all going down there for Christmas for a couple of weeks though."

"Are you going to go with them?" I had no plans for Christmas and had already resigned myself to spending it alone. It would be the first I wouldn't be spending it with all of my sisters and nieces. Though I had plans to spoil them rotten, it wasn't the same.

Maybe I could spend Christmas with Bella instead. It was a delightful thought.

"No." She quickly shook her head. "Two weeks is too long for me to be in Texas. I made the excuse of work. I'm just going to send a gift. There was much guilt to be had."

_Ah, what a perfect segway…_

"Oh, speaking of gifts," I mumbled as I reached behind the couch to retrieve the bag. Her eyes got wide as I put it on her lap.

"What did you do?"

I smirked a little at her reaction. "I had a good day, so I wanted to spread the love. Happy belated birthday."

Her mouth opened and closed again, looking between me and the bag for a minute. Then, as if the bag would bite her, she pulled it open to look in. Then she began to take out her bounty. "Oh, my god. What did you do?" She asked again.

"I didn't know exactly what to get, but I remembered you said you liked this brand. So, I told them to get me basically one of everything. I showed them a couple of pictures, and they picked out the colors for foundation and everything. So, if it's not right, we can return it. I also got to talking to them, and they told me about the 'fan favorites,' and I told them to just give me whatever a girl might need to put on their face. Which is apparently a shit load of things, " I explained with a big nervous grin.

"Holy hell! How much did you spend?" She gasped. Like I was going to tell her that.

"Um, I don't know. I signed up for their little club though, and they said I had already hit 'platinum' or 'diamond' or… something and that you could get some good stuff from it. Free shipping, too. So, if you ever see anything else you need. I don't know if I missed anything," I said casually.

Her face was bright red. "I'll never need anything ever again! This is crazy!" She said in shock. "Why?"

My tendency to go too far was obviously coming out in full force. It was probably a good thing Jasper told my dumbass not to buy a ring. I probably spent about as much on all the makeup.

"Do you not like it?"

"No. I love it. It's just too much," she said quickly.

Yeah, I had gone too far, but she was going to let me. I could already tell.

I decided to play dumb. "We'll get you a box or something to keep it in. We will get you some more luggage."

"That's not what I mean," she giggled as she rubbed her fingers across her cheeks and over her eyes. "I actually bought a suitcase today. I just... Eddie, are you sure? This is a lot."

"Why wouldn't I be sure about seeing you happy? Seeing you smile is worth every cent."

She quickly shook her head, making her pretty curls bounce.

"You have the biggest day of your career, and you buy me a gift though? I should be buying you dinner or drinks."

"And, you have bought me dinner," I replied as I waved my hand towards the kitchen. "And, it seems like a perfect celebratory meal. Besides, like I said. It's for your birthday. I missed it by that much." I put my fingers very close together. I saw her nose wrinkle, and my smile grew. "I only missed it by a couple of weeks."

"Thank you," she breathed.

"You are very welcome, my darling," I said before I pressed my lips to her forehead for a long moment.

"When I used to get new makeup I would try it all out by doing swatches of all the colors on my arms. I have the strongest urge to basically paint my entire body funny colors," she whispered in a silly voice, her eyes wide with surprise. I couldn't help but laugh as I gazed at her. She was trying to make me laugh though.

"I don't think you have enough real estate to do all the shades. You might have to do it a few times. Wash off and start fresh." Oh yes, I would very much like to bathe with her again.

"The bottom of your shower would be looking like someone murdered a clown," she teased me with a mischievous smile in an adorable thick accent.

**Eddie and Jasper are sweet together this chapter. **

**This goes with chapter 16 of IP. **

**If you're enjoying, please let me know! I've added a ton of details to the story. **

**Thanks for reading!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen-**

We finished a bottle of sparkling wine together, but that wasn't enough to smooth my frazzled nerves. I got my joints, smoking one while Bella excitedly opened up all the boxes of makeup that I had purchased for her. She had rubbed dozens of colors over her arms and was now using my forearm.

It admittedly showed up on my light skin really well.

"I love the gold," Bella moaned softly as she examined one of the shades she just smeared against my skin.

"There was a gold lipstick," I let her know. I searched until I found it and pulled it out for her.

"Ohhhh..." She said as she pulled it from the tube. "I've got a bunch of gold eyeshadow, too. I could go as an Oscar for Halloween." She then used her camera as a mirror to spread it over her plush lips. "Oh," she giggled. "I'm shiny as _fuck_."

I loved her playful mood. I was a little drunk and stoned and beyond happy even though I was still anxious. Like the ham I could be, I took the lip gloss from her and smeared it all over my lips. Kind of. Sort of. I got it mostly on my lower face region.

I looked at her with a big smile. "Yes, but how do I look?"

Bella gave me the exact reaction I wanted. She laughed as she leaned forward to kiss me. Her hand slid over my cheek and into my hair, holding me in place. I could feel the lipstick spreading over our skin as our kiss became more and more passionate. My hands slid up her back as she came to straddle my lap.

"Oh, Eddie," she sighed against my lips, her forehead against mine. "Thank you for my gifts. I love them. You're incredibly thoughtful."

"I'm glad you like them," I said, pulling back to look into her eyes. I couldn't help but smirk at what I saw. She had gold all over her beautiful face and none on her lips. She began to giggle as well, her thumb coming up to my mouth.

"Damn, that's hot," I teased her, going in for another kiss. She giggled again, returning it happily.

"Now we're both shiny."

I reached for the phone that was still in her hand, the camera feature still up. She saw right away what I was doing and started to pose with me. We took several pictures, including a funny one where we were both doing a duck face. Before I even handed the phone back to her, I sent the images to my phone to keep.

"Come on. I'll help you get that off," she offered after one more kiss, picking up one of the bottles from the pile on the couch.

Bella let me ramble my thoughts out to her while she finished cooking dinner for us. All I could seem to do was smoke as my anxiety began to prickle at the base of my neck. I had to keep reminding myself that it was a good thing and I should be excited. Not terrified out of my damn mind.

"I should tell my family after dinner. They should all be awake by then." I tried to do the math in my head as I passed Bella the smoke.

"Your nieces are going to think you're the coolest uncle ever. Especially the new one. She'll be about four or five when it comes out. She'll be the exact right age to be obsessed with the songs. How fun." She smiled warmly as she passed it back.

"If they do a premiere in Sydney I could get them all to come. All my girls. I'm going to be able to do whatever I want to do after this. Disney is basically a license to print money. I'll be able to set up funds for my sisters and their daughters and make sure they'll always be taken care of. I'll be able to buy my parents a house and a new car if they want it. Get them the best nurses when they get older and need more help. My grandparents, too. And I'll be able to do whatever project I want to do. I can just do what I'm passionate about. It won't have to be about a paycheck ever again," my mouth decided to take over and fully ramble on about exactly what was on my mind. This was a huge deal. I sighed as I tapped out the ashes in the tray before they fell off onto the counter.

"Fuck…This… This is so massive. I've never done anything like this. I don't know what to expect or do. I feel like I'm just faking it and I'm just terrified they're going to find out," I admitted to her.

She finished what she was doing and went to wash her hands before she came to stand beside me on the stool. "Well, I think they know what they're doing. They are Disney, after all. I think they know what they're looking for. They'll let you know what they expect from you. You just have to pay attention."

"Do you think so?" She nodded. "You haven't even read it."

"Not yet. But, I know you. I've seen the work you've done before. I must say, it's a genius move on Disney's part to snatch you up now before you realize how much you're really worth and start charging them out the nose," she said with a small smile as she ran her fingers over my chin.

"Thank you," I breathed.

"I'm so proud of you," Bella said, pressing a kiss to forehead since she could easily reach it. "Why don't you pick us some wine out to go with dinner? It'll be done in just a few minutes."

The roast was perfectly cooked and delicious. It was the perfect meal for the day. The creamy chocolate mousse was beyond amazing as well. I enjoyed feeding Bella several bites, the way her lips wrapped around the spoon beyond arousing. During the meal, I kept leaning over to kiss her.

When we finished eating, I helped her clear the table.

"I'm going to make a few phone calls," I told her quietly. She smiled sweetly.

"Of course. Take your time. I'm going to go take a shower."

I seriously considered saying '_fuck the calls'_ and following her in the shower, but I wanted to tell at least some of my family members.

With a soft sigh, I watched her walk towards my bedroom before I went outside to sit by the pool while I made my phone calls. I decided there was a fun way to do this.

In the group text with my sisters I sent the message, '_I've got good news. Who's around?"_

"_Me!_" Tanya texted right away, so I called her first.

"So, guess what?" I began when I rang her, beginning way braggier than I actually felt about the whole thing. I knew I was about to hear a woman scream.

"You're dating the photographer!" She said right away, throwing me off guard. Of course, my sisters talked. I knew they had a group chat without me too. I had forgotten I hadn't told them that yet.

"Yes!" I laughed. "That's not actually the good news though. That's the amazing and unbelievable news. The whipped cream, sprinkles, and many cherries on the awesome cake that has been my week."

"What?! Really?" She laughed happily. "Sasha was right!"

"Yeah, well… Yeah," I laughed. "Do you want to hear the good news or not?"

"It's not that you've got a girlfriend?" She said dryly. "Really?"

"Surprisingly… no," I chuckled. "They bought the script. Disney is making my movie, and I'm going to be the star. Tanya, I did it," I tried to say as calmly as possible. It was so hard.

"TONY!" She shrieked.

"Mummy!" I heard my niece say worriedly.

"Oh, sorry, baby. Didn't me to surprise you," she said with her mouth away from the phone. She brought the mouthpiece back up. "Tony! Seriously?!"

"Yeah!" I beamed.

"The one I read?"

"Yeah."

"I knew it! I told you it was good! Oh, darling!" She shouted. "Oh, my god. You have to tell everyone!"

"I know," I laughed at her excitement. "I don't know if I can do it all tonight. I think the Grands might have to wait for a day or two."

"I can tell them if you'd like," she offered easily. Our grandparents were always lovely to talk to. "You have to tell Mum though."

"Ugh," I groaned. I would rather talk to my grandparents.

"She'll be annoyed if she doesn't hear it from you," she reminded me. I groaned in response, making her giggle. "Sorry. Anyway, that's so great though! Now tell me about Bella!"

"Seriously! I just tell you that, and you're still more interested in my love life?"

"Yeah?" She said it as if I was stupid. "Is she the new girl in your videos?"

"Yes, she is," I told her honestly.

"Oh. Yeah, I can see that. She's beautiful, Tony!" She gushed.

"And she's smart, kind, witty, funny, talented, artistic, passionate, caring, and… just everything," I said happily.

"Wow! How long have you been dating?" Tanya asked.

"Like four days," I breathed. "It's insane but… I can't explain how I feel about her. She's literally the best person I've ever met. You're going to love her. I can't wait for all of you to meet her."

"You sound like you're in love!" She told me excited.

"I am," I blurted out. "I am, but don't go telling everyone that, please. I realize my tendency towards drama, and I know I need to chill out. But, yeah, I am. I am really in love with this woman. The first thing I thought when I saw her is that I wanted to marry her."

She squealed. "And I can't tell _everyone_?"

"I mean, not the grandparents and the parents. You're going to tell the girls whatever I say."

"Okay, that's reasonable," she agreed. "Okay, now tell me more about this Disney thing, so I know what to tell everyone."

I then spent the next fifteen minutes giving her all the details. Then I got a call from Irina. I let Tanya go so I could answer it.

"What is your news! Don't leave us hanging like that!" She chided right away.

"Sorry. I was talking to T," I laughed. "So, you remember that script I wrote?"

"Did you sell it?" She asked in an excited voice. She got a little squeaky when she was happy.

"You bet your skinny ass I did!" I laughed in excitement. "Guess to who!"

I then proceeded to talk to my two other sisters. Carmen actually cried for me, telling me how proud she was of me. Her tears made me cry too. It took several minutes to finally catch my breath and make the call I was putting off for last.

"Hello?" My mother said in boredom. She always sounded so annoyed on the phone, like she had something else better to do. Just like when I was in boarding school.

"Hi, Mum. Is this a good time?" I hoped she would say no.

"Yes, of course, Anthony, darling. Is there something you need?"

"No," I said quickly. "I actually have some good news I wanted to share with you. I sold a movie script to Disney. They're going to be making my movie, and I'm going to be the star. I'm going to have a lot of creative control, and I am getting a percentage of the sales of everything involved with the movie," I said as quickly as possible before I knew whatever questions or comments she had were coming. She had a tendency to talk over anyone and everything.

"I see," she said very calmly. "That is very exciting news. Have you finalized the contract?"

"We've only put some basic paperwork in as of right now. I'm having my lawyers and my manager look over everything first. But, I don't foresee any issues. Their offer is more than generous for a first-time creator."

"Hm. When will you know for sure?"

"By the end of the month."

"Are you sure your lawyers can handle it? A contract with Disney must be a complicated thing. You're not a very big star. Perhaps you should have someone else look at it," she said doubtfully.

"Mum, my lawyers are-"

"I can research-"

My mother thought she knew everything about everything, especially when it came to the law. I was sure she could research American contract law, but that is why I had good lawyers.

"No, thank you. Really. I'm sure it's fine," I said quickly. "If I need help, I'll let you know," I added politely. I would rather cuddle a rabid dingo.

"So, I imagine you'll finally give up your internet foolishness," she sniffed. I bit my lip and looked up at the sky. "It's about time. I don't understand why you're wasting your time, embarrassing yourself like that all the time. It's shameful."

"I'm not giving up anything. I love my channel, and I'm sorry it's foolishness, but it's not a waste of time. It makes me a lot of money, in fact. And I enjoy it. I wouldn't have gotten Disney if I wasn't doing it."

"You could clearly be making more money if you applied yourself elsewhere. You've outgrown it, surely."

"I just sold a damn script to Disney. What else could I be doing?" I demanded, closing my eyes tightly. "I made millions of fucking dollars today."

"_Language_. And I don't know what you could accomplish, that is the point," she said sharply.

"You know what, Mum. I need to go. I've got a date tonight," I lied. I had a woman waiting for me, but we weren't going anywhere. The only place I wanted her was in my bed. I needed to stop talking to her before she sucked out all of my happiness and killed my buzz completely.

"With who?"

Did she think she would know her? She didn't watch my videos or talk to me. "A beautiful woman. A photographer. Her name is Bella," I replied.

"Did you ever call Mariane?"

"Who?" I asked in confusion.

"My friend's daughter. She's in California for work."

"Oh, god. Are you serious?" I laughed. "No, I learned my lesson the first time. Vicky was enough. I'm done with your friend's daughter's."

"Vicky is a lovely woman."

"She was. And she thought I was a childish jackass, just like you. No, actually, I have a girlfriend right now. And I'm making her wait. So, I'm going to let you go. Have a good day," I said quickly, hanging up before she could say anything else to me. I didn't even talk to my father. It took all of my mental energy to talk to her.

I decided to smoke again before I went back to Bella.

Bella was sitting at the vanity in my bathroom. She had straightened her hair, and it fell all the way down her back in a shiny black sheet. She was wearing a very sexy red nightgown. She was painting her lips to match when I came in. Her eyes found mine in the mirror, catching me staring.

"I'm sorry that took so long."

"You're fine, honey. I hope everyone is doing well," she answered in her rich accent.

"Yeah, they are. That was a lot of calls," I replied softly. "You look stunning. Your hair is so much longer when it's straight. It's almost to your arse."

Bella stood from the vanity and began to walk towards me. She did a little spin, shaking her hair free to show it off to me. Everything about her was perfection.

"How did I do?" She asked as she showed me her eyes.

"It's very pretty. _You_ are very pretty. Though it's like you're photoshopped your face in real life," I joked stupidly. "I'm afraid to mess it up."

She pulled on my shirt, her smile mischievous. "I only put it on so you could mess it up."

Bella was doing all of this for me. She made herself somehow even more beautiful just for me. She wanted to feel her lipstick smear on my mouth, just like I did.

"Well, in that case," I mumbled just as I pulled her into a kiss. My hands had to touch every part of her body, but especially her thick gorgeous ass. I loved how the lace felt against my palms.

We both smiled when we pulled back from our wild kiss. Just as it had with the gold, the red had smudged across her face. I found it incredibly hot for some reason I couldn't explain. Her sparkling eyes were naughty and amused. She was just as eager to mess it up further, letting me kiss her for as long as I could stand until it became too much.

I lifted her up and placed her on the countertop, eagerly throwing her nightgown over my shoulder as she took off my shirt. I smiled to myself when I realized she was wearing the lingerie I had picked out for her. It looked better on her than I could have ever imagined.

Every part of her skin was luscious and soft. I needed to kiss every inch of her chest. She was so vocal about her pleasure, holding me to the places she liked my attention the most. I fell to my knees in front of her, excited to worship her. She spread her legs open for me, allowing me to taste her dripping wet panties. Her fingers twisted into my hair, obviously enjoying my efforts.

"Damn, damn... damnnnn..." She cried out as her whole body reacted. I could feel her thighs stiffen around my face, her heels dug deep in my back. And that was through her clothes. I knew it would only get better with my fingers. When I did, she cried out over and over again, just for me.

I stood to kiss her delicious lips, pulling her bra away as she tugged off my slacks. When they were gone she wrapped her legs around me. Her mouth was pressing hot kisses along my neck before she began to nip at my shoulder.

Bella slid down from the vanity and took my hand as she led me over to the bed. She very purposefully bent over to fix the blankets, pressing her plush ass against me. She looked so good bent over like that, the shape of her ass perfect. I moaned to myself as I tugged her hard back against me.

"I want to fuck you like this. I want to fuck you from behind," I whispered in her ear as I held her against me. I saw her slight smile as she hooked her thumbs around the panties and pushed them to the floor.

Then she crawled on the bed for me on her hands and knees. I honestly couldn't get the condom on fast enough. She was visibly wet for me, waiting for me to take her. I wasn't going to go slow though. It wasn't going to take long for both of us to cum. As soon as I slid into her, she cried out loudly, her body pushing back roughly to meet me as she shoved her face into the blankets to muffle her moans. Her beautiful hair bounced around her, blocking her face. I pulled it back roughly so I could see her orgasm rip through her, tinting her skin red. It was too much, the perfect sensation and gorgeous views bringing on my own.

Bella sort of slid down onto her stomach, crawling up, so just her feet were dangling off the edge of the bed. I chuckled to myself, knowing exactly how she felt. After getting cleaned up, I slid in beside her and gave her a soft slow kiss on her now completely bare lips. Her once lovely eye makeup was now smeared all over her cheeks and forehead, the red of her lipstick dotting her neck and jaw. It was hilarious and amazing, and I wished I could take another picture, but I knew she wouldn't let me.

"Well, your makeup looks wild now."

"That's because half of it's on your bed," she answered as she rolled over a little to show me where her face had been shoved into the sheets. On it was almost the perfect mask of her makeup.

"Well... _shit_," I said in a laugh I couldn't help. "Whoops." I would have said I was sorry, but I wasn't. Not one bit.

"I'll wash the sheets tomorrow." She smirked a little as we readjusted in the bed so that we were laying the right way. Bella put her head on my chest, getting more comfortable beside me.

I was almost about to drift off to sleep when I remembered something. I was going to make the same mistake again and forget to tell her what I needed to do the following day. I also needed to set my alarm.

"I have to go to the studio tomorrow. I have to do some voiceover work for a commercial. Will you be okay by yourself again? I feel bad, but I can't get out of it."

"No, it's perfect. I need to finish up your pictures so I can send them. I'm almost done but, there is always more I can do. What time do you have to go? I'll make you breakfast before," she answered sweetly, glancing up at me with such adoring eyes. I loved that they were for me. But, I wasn't going to make her do that. That's not why I wanted her there, even if I already loved her cooking.

"Noon. But you don't have to do that. I love your cooking, but I feel bad making you cook for me all the time," I informed her as I tugged her even closer to me. Her leg slid between mine.

"Don't. I love cooking for my friends. And a way to a man's heart and all that," Bella giggled as she ran her finger along my pec, just over my tattoo and thumping heart. "Besides, you're still in the super grateful stage, and it's my favorite part. I was thinking breakfast tacos."

"Yes, I would be very grateful for breakfast tacos." I nodded, making her smile. "The way to a man's heart is definitely tacos." I fucking loved tacos in all of their forms. It was one of man's perfect foods. I could eat them daily.

"You know, there is this myth that the most proposed over a meal is roasted chicken and somehow not tacos," she said in a jokingly serious tone, her chin coming to rest on my shoulder.

_What an odd fact to know. _"How would they know that? If it's true, why chicken? Is it just roasted chicken or does fried chicken count? Or, is that too greasy?"

She hummed for a minute, pretending to think. "A roast chicken takes a lot of work and often comes out bland and dry if you don't know what you're doing. I guess it shows a certain level of skill in the kitchen. Wife material. But, is it the same if you go to a restaurant? Then someone else is doing the work but does it provide the same desired effect? A placebo, if you will."

Bella was a natural comedian. I wasn't even sure she knew how funny she actually was. I swallowed down my smirk.

"These are the hard questions that need to be asked," I tried to say seriously, making her scoff and laugh. "I don't think I'd want to propose over food. What if they had garlic or onions? What if they had chicken in their teeth? It's not very romantic or original."

"Most proposals aren't very romantic, I don't think. Or, original. But I'd rather get engaged over a meal than over a pregnancy test any day of the week," she said with a little roll of her eyes.

My brain decided it was time to make a bad joke. The conversation was getting a little serious now, and I could see a hint of sadness in her eyes. I wanted it to go away.

"Wait... You don't have kids, do you?"

She pursed her lips to one side as her eyes got wide then narrowed on me. Then she whacked my stomach playfully, making me laugh. It wasn't hard, but it had a little smack to it. "Sorry! I'm joking. I'm _joking_."

"No. I just _thought_ I was pregnant and I had a panic attack. Aiden brought me a couple of tests and handed them to me and said, _'it doesn't really matter. We were going to get married anyway.'_ And it was negative, of course. It was actually food poisoning, not morning sickness, but somehow we were engaged. We got married a few months later. I was only nineteen," she explained to me softly. "That is the most simplified version of the story, to say the least. I guess it was romantic that he already knew what he wanted. I don't know."

What ass doesn't make his proposal to this gorgeous woman special? Why wasn't he on his hands and knees begging for the honor? I knew in a heartbeat that I would. Bella was worth it. She was worth the pomp and circumstance. The flowers, balloons, champagne, music. Whatever it took. She was worth a New Years' level firework display and whole Macy's day parade worth of marching bands. At the very least more than plastic bag wrapped pregnancy tests. I could almost see it: two in the morning as she sat beside the toilet, green from illness.

"You deserved something more special than that."

"I was so young. I was just happy someone wanted me at all, let alone wanted to keep me. He did get me a ring after that. Gave it to me on the first night of Hanukkah." She quickly covered herself. "I'll take a shitty proposal and a good marriage over a good proposal and a shitty marriage."

"It's possible to have both." I could give her both. I would. I would do anything to keep her happy. Her smile was worth the effort alone.

"It's also possible we make ourselves unhappy by having too many expectations for ourselves and others. You might not know that yet since you're young and you've reached for the moon and literally made it to Jupiter right off the bat. It's not that you haven't worked for it either. You're just lucky enough not to have _that_ life experience yet. I'm insanely jealous," she said quickly before stopping, her face becoming warm with slight embarrassment. I rubbed her back soothingly as I considered my answer.

"You're right about expectations. It's an obvious thing. I know we can't have it all, but it doesn't stop me from wanting it," I finally replied.

Bella shifted so she could look at me. "Well, in your case you could have it all. So, why listen to me?"

I quickly shook my head. "Don't discount yourself or your thoughts and feelings. They're valid."

"In another life, you would make for a good therapist," she breathed as we looked into each other's eyes. My world sort of melted away around her. "Did it ever get that serious with anyone for you?"

I guess I should have expected that question. It seemed fair.

"Um... Not really. Yes and no. I was going to propose to the girl I had been dating before I moved here. I thought that she'd move with me to LA and I'd ask her to marry me on our fourth anniversary in June. Victoria didn't want to move, though. She didn't want to leave Sydney or her friends. Or, her job. She is an interior designer. I understand I guess. I just wish she told me right away, instead of at the last minute. Letting me plan everything as I did. But, to be honest, I think Vicky was ready to be rid of me," I babbled on nervously.

"Why do you think that?"

"I don't know. A feeling. She thought I was an immature ass most of the time. She started dating someone pretty soon after, too. I don't think she was cheating, per se, but I think she was thinking about it really hard. I wish her all the best. I hope the next asshole likes her weird tastes in furniture and burnt toast." I frowned at all the time I wasted on trying to please someone who didn't really like who I was, but the idea of what I could be. Someone I could never be.

Bella liked me for me though, the version that I was right then. Imperfect and as immature as I was. She was happy to be there in my arms, playful and opening herself up to me.

"Well, her loss," she breathed before kissing my tattoo.

"I think it worked out for the best. I grinned at her, brushing her hair away from her cheek. She smiled in return.

"Me too," she giggled before pressing another quick kiss to my lips. "I'm going to get washed up. Then are you ready for bed?"

"Mm, sounds perfect." I grinned to myself as I watched her nice round ass sway its way into the bathroom. When she came back her face was clean and her hair was brushed straight again. She had also put back on her pretty little nightgown.

This time I opened my arms to her, and she crawled into them with a giggle and a kiss. She was the perfect little spoon, fitting against my body like she was designed to be there. Wrapped in her scent and curled around her soft warmth, I quickly fell asleep.

**Eddie and Esme don't have the warmest relationship but I love his sisters. **

**This goes with chapter 17 of IP**

**If you're enjoying still please let me know! I am having so much fun writing this!**

**Thanks for reading! **


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen-**

That night I dreamed about Jasper. It wasn't strange for me to do so. I dreamed about him a lot actually. I missed him terribly. We had been together almost every day for well over a decade of our lives. We shared a dorm, and then we shared an apartment.

The first dream I had we were in the old place in Sydney. Jasper and I were laid out on his old bed, watching his television because it was the nicest at the time. He was stretched out with his arms behind his head, smiling as we spoke. I don't know what was said, but we began to wrestle jokingly, a bad habit we had kept up from when we were on the wrestling team together in school. We both loved to roughhouse far too much and were often vicious in our attacks. Neither of us really got mad at the pain, and probably both enjoyed it far too much. Frankly, he was better at it, but I was always bigger. The dream was more one of feelings than images. Happiness, laughter. Everything was playful and fun. It made me miss him all the more.

It ended and even in my head, I knew it was all just a dream. I was sad for it to be over though. I wanted that. I wanted my best friend around. There was a reason he was the first person I wanted to call after Disney. Because he was the first person I would call after everything important that ever happened to me in my life. He had always been there for me.

Then I began to dream again. This time we were in my new bed in LA, and we were both nude. It reminded me of the dream I had with all the strange women kissing me. I wasn't as anxious in this one though. He crawled on top of me, kissing me. In it, I returned eagerly, my arousal evident as it rubbed against his erection. His strong hands pinned my wrists above my head, his mouth on my neck. The images were just as sharp as the emotions in this one.

"_Please,"_ I whimpered pathetically. I wanted to reach for him and pull him towards me, but he held me too tightly. "_I need you."_

"_Beg me," _he said as he kissed down my chest. Suddenly he was between my thighs, kissing and licking there as my knees bent. My body pushed itself toward his warm mouth.

I couldn't speak though. I was too in shock from the pleasure he was giving me. He looked up at me with his wicked grinned, his hands smoothing over my thighs as he spread them apart.

In the dream, all I wanted to do was grab his face and shove my cock in his mouth. My hands still felt pinned down though. And then he gave me what I wanted, but just for a second.

I woke up with a start, my heart thumping in my chest. It was just a couple of minutes before my alarm was supposed to go off. Bella was curled at my side, her red nightgown lifted up over her bare ass. She hadn't worn her panties to bed. One of her legs was lifted over my naked thigh, and I could feel the warmth between her legs.

My erection was confused. And I was annoyed with myself.

Painfully aroused was not the word to cover it. I was embarrassed about having such a dream with a beautiful woman in my arms, but I knew I couldn't control it. I hated myself for perversely enjoying them though. I felt dirty, especially since I admittedly found him attractive. Though anyone would have, he was objectively so. Muscular, blond, blue-eyed, tattooed, and a great smile. I would never tell him, or her, about the dreams. He had been nothing but a friend to me, and there was no reason to embarrass either of us.

He might not have been shy about sex, but I was.

I had dreamed about having sex with Jasper countless time, especially since moving to America. To the point of where I looked it up and talked to my therapist about it. Apparently, it was a sign simply that I missed him and that we were growing closer together. Our friendship had grown stronger since I left. We spoke more often and perhaps about more deeply personal things. He was the only person, now besides Bella, that I felt entirely comfortable around.

No masks. It was such an odd thing to be just _me_. Honestly, if I could find a way to get him to come to America my life would be utterly perfect. With my girl and my best friend, I could take over the world. I would happily wear my mask all day if I could take it off every night to be myself with them.

My alarm began to go off, and Bella moaned softly, stretching her arms over her head. I smoothed my hand over her back gently, rubbing my fingers just over the curve of her ass.

"Good morning, lovely," I whispered as I leaned down to press my lips to hers. She moaned against my mouth, happy to return it with her tiny fingers tangled into my hair. I wondered if she knew how much I loved that. "Do you want to work out with me before I have to go?"

"Mm," she hummed, pressing her lips against my neck. "I'd love to. Let me go get changed, and I'll meet you in there."

After a long and sensual kiss, she pulled herself from my arms and went to the spare bedroom to get something to change into. I took several minutes and calming breaths before I got dressed.

She decided on a white sports bra and a pair of yoga pants. It was hard not to openly stare at her toned body. I found her tattoos especially sexy like this. She was usually fairly conservative in the way that she dressed. I found myself almost jealous that she was so comfortable with her own body.

I had not watched Bella work out the day before. If I had, perhaps I would have gotten a clue to how fit she actually was. She flew through a routine that made me ache just thinking about. And she lifted weights that I found surprising. I would have never guessed she was so strong, but she did so with ease. Then to finish it off, she did thirty intense minutes of the elliptical. It was, by far, my favorite part. I loved watching her breasts bounce so much that I actually found it hard to concentrate, even as I tried to show off with my own workout.

We were both covered in sweat by the time we finished. I wanted to take her on the weight bench. Instead, I let her lead me to the shower. She turned on the water before she tugged off her bra. Bella helped me with my own shirt so that our naked torsos could be pressed together as he pulled me down into a kiss.

Her kisses were the best, her warm, delicious mouth unbearably sweet. She smiled as I grabbed her ass, her hands smoothing over my chest.

"I could kiss you all day," I told her honestly.

"And I'd let you if we both didn't have to work today," she said, annoyingly responsible. She saw my frustration. "You can kiss me all you want tonight though," Bella promised.

"Mm, I planned on it," I hummed as I pulled down her pants and underwear. "And not just those pretty lips."

Bella pulled down my shorts, a sexy smirk on her face. She then bit her bottom lip before dragging her hand over my erection. Then she giggled wickedly as she slipped into the shower.

We made out for most of the shower, Bella's hot slick wet soapy body sliding against mine while my hands alternated between her breasts and ass. It was a great way to start the day, and honestly, all I wanted to do was get back into bed with her and fuck her from behind again.

Instead, Bella made us a beautiful breakfast that we ate outside in the sunshine underneath the umbrella. I merely made the coffee, though I was getting pretty good at it. I liked watching her work.

Bella brought her laptop outside with a large mug of coffee before I left. I brought her my weed to help take the edge off if she needed it. I knew she was nervous about how the magazine would like her work. I thought everything she did was amazing, but I might have been wildly biased.

I hated recording commercials. It was boring and tedious. I said the same thing a hundred times in a hundred different ways before moving on to the next phrase. The director was a loud man, shouting '_good, good. Let's do it again,'_ after every take. I was far less motivated to do well than I had been before when Bella was watching. I don't think I could have done any better than I had, though.

All I wanted to do all day was go home to her.

It was late when I got out of the recording studio. Tired, I didn't really feel like going out. My throat hurt. I hoped Bella would understand. I didn't think it would bother her, she was so understanding.

Jasper sent me a message as I sat down in the driver's side of the car, thinking about what I wanted to text Bella. "_How did the celebration go?"_

_"Perfect. It was a great night. Bella made us a proper Sunday roast, and she loved her gifts. I went hog wild though_," I answered him. _"I'm just getting off work, and I'm about to head home to her." _

"_Any plans?"_

"_I'm knackered," _I admitted to him. _"She was working on things today too, so I hope she doesn't mind staying in." _

"_She'll have to figure out you're a homebody at some point," _he teased me. He wasn't wrong of course. I enjoyed being at home more than anything else. Though I did enjoy going out, it was only for short controlled spurts of time.

"_Would you like me to pick up anything for dinner or would you like to order dinner?"_ I finally texted Bella. Her response was almost instant.

"_I'm making homemade pasta if that's alright?" _Pasta sounded amazing. It was so lovely that she was cooking for me again without having to be asked.

"_Oh, yes, please. Do we have garlic bread?" _I asked her. I sent Jasper a text back. "_Bella is making us pasta for dinner."_

"_Yum," _he answered back.

_"No. If you want to stop and get some french bread, I'll be more than happy to make you some. It sounds good," _she answered.

"_Should I get dessert?" _I was eager to do anything to please her. It would also give me a chance to get her something else while I was at the grocery store. I texted Jasper, "_what flowers should I get Bella?"_

"_Ahhh… Fuck if I know?"_

"_Be helpful and look up flower shit."_

"_Ugh, fine…"_ He answered.

"_Up to you. We have leftover mousse and whipped cream still. And strawberries," _she replied to me. It was delicious the night before and definitely wanted to eat it again.

"_That sounds good. I'll be home as soon as I can," _I answered with a bunch of stupid emojis.

_"So, apparently yellow roses are a Texas thing? Plus they represent joy, which I would think fits how you're feeling. That's all the googling you're getting out of me,"_ Jasper answered.

"_Perfect! Thanks :D" _

"_So glad to help you get laid."_

I smirked to myself. "_I don't need your help for that. She'd fuck me without the flowers."_

The roses were right by the door, and so was the bread in the store. I rushed through the self-checkout so I could hurry home back to Bella.

It already smelled so delicious from the garage.

She beamed as I presented her with the flowers, giving me a soft kiss as a reward.

"How beautiful. Do you have a vase to put them in?" _Oh, fuck._ No, I didn't. Of course. Why didn't I think of that? Bella giggled at my expression. "No. That's okay. I'll figure it out."

She searched around for a few moments before she found a stupid big beer mug that I had. Filling it with water, she trimmed the roses to fit and put them on the center of the table.

I smoothed my hands over her arms from behind, kissing her cheek after she placed them. "Thank you. They're lovely. I love yellow roses," she said sweetly, snuggling into my grip. "Are you ready to eat?"

"Yeah. Is there anything I need to do?"

She turned in my grip and smoothed her fingers over my cheeks. Slowly she shook her head. She pouted her bottom lip out, lifted up on her toes to meet me in a kiss. "Are you okay? How did today go?"

"Mm. Yeah. Just tired and it was boring. Usually, my career isn't a job, but today it was. But, one must pay their dues and their bills," I explained to her, enjoying being close to her. She smelled clean, and her lips tasted of wine. "I don't mind. I just would have preferred to spend the day with you."

"Is there anything I can do to make it better?" She offered.

"You're already doing it," I breathed.

"Would a big glass of wine help too?" Bella asked.

"Mm, yes it would. But, let me get that. Do you have a bottle opened already?"

"I finished the one we opened the other night. I needed to use it to roll out the pasta," she giggled. "So, pick us something to share. Whatever you want. I'm not picky."

I loved watching her dance around the kitchen. Her movements were so graceful. She lifted up on her toes and wiggle her hips as she stirred pots and made plates.

She piled my plate high with pasta in a creamy white cheese sauce and a fancy looking salad with homemade dressing. Everything on the plate was made from scratch. It was so impressive.

"This is incredible, Bella," I told her after a bite.

"Thanks." She blushed slightly, twirling her pasta on her fork before taking a delicate bite. Bella hummed in pleasure before taking a tiny bite of toast. "I'm glad you wanted bread. It's good with the sauce."

"It is," I agreed.

I couldn't eat fast enough. "I've never had homemade pasta before. It's so much better. Seriously."

"I'm really glad you're enjoying it. I just made something pretty quick and simple," she explained away like it was any less impressive somehow. Like I knew how to make homemade pasta, sauce, salad dressing, mousse, and whipped cream.

"And, you used a wine bottle to make the pasta itself?"

"Yeah. I used to make pasta for the restaurant I worked for on the daily. I could probably do it in my sleep at this point. But, I have to tell you… You seriously need some things for your kitchen," she said, looking at me from underneath her eyelashes as she twirled more pasta around her fork.

"Do you want to make a video about it?" I blurted out.

"What do you mean? Just listing off stuff you need in the kitchen or just me buying shit for your kitchen?"

I had no idea. My mouth decided to say it before my brain really had time to think about it.

"Both, I guess. Kind of. I don't know. You know what a person needs for a good kitchen. You used to cook professionally for a while. And, if we make it into a video, I can write it off as a business expense."

She giggled quietly, "that seems a little shady."

I smiled innocently, "not if we keep using them in videos. _Both_ of us..."

"Do you even want to make cooking videos?"

Did I care about learning to cook myself? No. Did I want to spend as much time with Bella as possible? Yes. Also watching her in the kitchen was amazing. I couldn't imagine I would be the only person to see that. I could easily see a cooking show with her as the star. We played off of each other so well. Why couldn't we do it together? I pulled apart my bread and took a bite to give myself time to think about what I wanted to say.

"I'm already making food videos. You said yourself it makes sense that I learn. You could teach me. You've already doubled my cooking knowledge this week."

She laughed, biting her lip and looking away from me. "I'm not against it but don't we need to be in the same state for that? You've already got your week planned, and I fly home on the second. And, you already have to work on Sunday because of all the rain."

She was right about all of that. She was paying better attention to my schedule than I was.

"It's just one place for a watch. It'll be very short. We could do it after." I just wanted to make another video with her, and I knew she would love all the things for the kitchen. It would also give her an excuse to come back. She could make her own little cooking show in my kitchen. It would give me an excellent reason to focus on her. Besides, food videos always did fantastic on YouTube.

"The kitchen supply store or Bed, Bath, and Beyond, or whatever, ain't gonna let Seth and Tyler run around with cameras and a boom mic inside. Not with such short notice," she said smartly in her thickened accent.

"Oh, well. Perhaps. We don't have to film the shopping, just the end results. All the things and why and what they do. Or, we'll just use our phones. But, either way, it'll be _Eddie's first fully decked out adult kitchen_. And when you come to visit again, we can do some cooking videos together. If you want to. It's up to you," I babbled.

"Are you sure you want me in so many of your videos?" Bella asked me in a quiet and worried voice. I had to instantly dispel any of her fears.

I hummed jokingly, tapping my finger on my chin. "You are beautiful and well spoken. Funny as hell. I absolutely do. You know, I posted a video with you this morning, and it already has five million views. The second part of the Japanese stuff. The sodas. It might be the fastest ever for a food one. And the comments are almost all nice. There was a percentage of _thirsty_ ones, too." _Stupid, gross trolls and their obsession with tits._ "But, it's the internet."

"The first already had ten million though. I don't think it's me," she countered.

"It's up to twenty-two million views, actually. Last time I checked this morning. And the one from the jump has doubled its views from just yesterday. By the way, I moved your pay from one hundred to one thousand. I can change it again if it's a problem," I explained in passing. It only took a couple clicks to change it.

"How much are you actually giving me?" She narrowed her eyes on me.

"I'm not giving it to you. You earned it. You did work. Mostly tolerating my buffoonery..." Bella looked very unimpressed, cocking her head to one side and frowning deeply. I sighed, "four percent of all the ad revenue and sponsorship if it implies. Like the jump gets way more because it's sponsored. Way _way_ more. It's the most I've made from a single video already by a whole lot."

They paid me a quarter of a million dollars just to jump out of the damn plane in the first place. That wasn't to mention the wonderful ad revenue.

"None of that was work," she began to argue with me right away, her whole face glowing. "I can't imagine what you're getting for each video. Do you do the same with Seth and Tyler? Give them a percentage?"

"They get double that for each one they do. They seem really happy about it." That was an understatement. No one was unhappy about our deal. They worked their asses off for me, and I made it worth their while. And I would make it worth hers as well.

"That's because they're getting paid thousands for twenty hours of work a week. Tops," she laughed awkwardly.

"They work on their own stuff, too."

She looked so distressed as she began to chew on the side of her thumb. "Would you promise to let me know if you ever feel like I'm using you? Because, I don't ever intend to but, I just... I don't want to take advantage, and you've already given me so much. I don't ever want to exploit your generosity. It would be okay if you gave me less. I haven't done much of anything."

_Nope. No. Not how that's going to work_. I was going to give her more with time, not less. She was crazy if she thought otherwise. She looked so worried though. I decided it was time to lighten the mood.

"You can use me a little bit." I winked at her. It worked, and her expression melted into a small smirk. She rolled her eyes as she looked away. I brought her hand up to my lips and pressed a kiss against them. "You're not. But, I promise to tell you if I ever feel that way."

I knew without a doubt that was never going to be a conversation we were going to have. Bella deserved the world, and I was going to give it to her.

**Anyone else have those dirty dreams about people they probably shouldn't?**

**This chapter also goes with chapter 17. It added a lot, so I split it up.**

**I'm taking Easter off from posting this week. I'll see everyone next week! Everyone have a great weekend.**

**If you're still enjoying this story, please let me know!**

**Thanks for reading! **


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen-**

That evening we spent hours pleasuring each other. Bella indulged my intense need to kiss her. She didn't seem to mind in the least. We fucked three times, twice before bed and once in the middle of the night. She started that time, her hand wrapping around my erection in her sleep. Then she began to massage it until I was practically vibrating in place. I didn't know what to do with myself until I finally gave in to my urge to kiss her neck.

She moaned, her eyes fluttering open as she continued to play with me. I wasn't sure she was really awake, but she pulled me towards her in a forceful kiss. I could barely get the condom on fast enough before she slammed down on me. Bella gave herself two orgasms while on top of me, her fingers between her legs.

And when she finally pulled herself off of me, I devoured her. I loved the feeling of her knees on my shoulders, her fingers tight in my hair as she called out my name over and over again.

When I got back to sleep, it was some of the best rest I had gotten in ages. Bella's warm ass was pressed against me. It was like she was designed to fit right _there._

I didn't know what the ringing was that woke me up. It wasn't my phone. Bella slapped her hand over on the dresser for her cell, her eyes shut tight.

"Yeah?" She moaned when she answered it, her eyes still closed.

"_Did I wake you?"_ Bella pulled the phone away from her face and frowned at the loud voice.

"Yes," she pouted.

"_Bitch, on a weekday? It's almost lunchtime." _It was an odd male voice.

"Well, in LA it's fucking early, _bitch_," she said back very sarcastically. She looked at me and kind of shook her head.

"_Oh, you're in LA? I thought that was last week."_

"I'm on a vacation."

"_Why didn't you tell me! I'm so jealous! I was going to ask you to lunch since I'm in Queens today for a doctor's appointment."_

"You should take Al to arepas since I won't be there two Fridays in a row. It's her favorite right now," Bella said sleepily.

"_Oh, that sounds good. That place by the office has the best pulled pork ones. With plantains and some black beans. Yas. I'll ask her. So, is it sunny? What have you been doing? Drinking? Laying in the sand?"_ The guy asked.

"It's late October. It's a bit cold for that. There was a big storm Monday and Tuesday and rained a little Thursday but other than that it's been great weather. I've actually just been laying in bed with a sexy man," she answered him in fake boredom. I smiled to myself. She was so good for my ego. I kissed her shoulder softly.

"_Oh, and what does he look like?" _

"Six five, two hundred pounds maybe, muscular. Broad shoulders and chest. Nice ass. The sharpest jaw you've ever seen. High cheekbones. Reddish hair, especially in the light. Gorgeous green eyes. Pale like he's not seen the sun... _ever._"

I giggled at her compliments, pushing my face between her shoulder blades in embarrassment. She wiggled against me.

"_What book you reading? I'm going to have to borrow that. Sounds hot."_

Bella pulled the phone away from her cheek as she glanced over her shoulder at me. She whispered, "say hello."

I put my chin on her shoulder. "Hello." The man on the phone screamed. I pulled back slightly, laughing. "Oh, god."

"_Girl, I thought you were talking about one of those vampire books Rosalie likes. What is your name, sugar?"_

"My name is Eddie. Nice to meet you," I answered in my most respectable tone.

The dramatic man gasped. "_Wait. What? Wait! No! No, no, and no. Are you banging that homeboy you were supposed to take pictures of? The one you made me watch videos of the other day?" _

"I didn't make you watch them, asshole. I showed you. You clicked next for two hours, not me. And, I waited to '_bang'_ him until after I took the pictures. Like the next day and everything." Bella held her chin up high, bobbing her head as she snapped back at her friend. There was a faint blush on her cheeks though.

"_Bells. honey, I need you to give yourself a high five for me_," he said to her in a serious voice. "_Just imagine I am high fiving you so hard. Right now. Do it. Do it for me._"

"That's what she said," she sassed.

"_Do it!"_ He shouted.

I decided to be stupid. She always enjoyed that.

"Oh, I'll help." I tried to give her a high five at an awkward angle. Bella laughed as the phone slipped from her fingers."Fuck, that wasn't very good." I adjusted and did it again.

"_Oh, my god. He's so cute. Are you going to keep him?"_

"He's not a lost puppy," Bella giggled, shaking her head a little to herself. "He's coming to Thanksgiving."

_"Yay! I love it. I can't wait. I am so ready for your food. I was going to wear my fat pants, but now I'm going to have to be looking sexy if you're coming, handsome." _

Bella made a sour face. "You're a married man. Wear your damn fat pants."

"_Think they have sexy fat pants?"_ He asked playfully.

"You still got some Juicy in your closet?"

He laughed, "_heavens, no."_

Bella shifted a little on the bed. "Well, I guess yoga pants are the new comfy fat pants, and I've definitely seen some fine looking women in yoga pants. But I mean, I might just like women's asses in general," she said playfully in return.

My douchebag brain said, _yay, my girl likes girls' ass too._ I reminded myself that meant nothing for me, but it was a fact I enjoyed knowing for some reason. I wouldn't say anything about it though it. I would try very hard not to be a pervert.

"_It's because that shit is a wonder bra for your ass. I want to be buried in yoga pants so I can be comfortable forever," _he answered.

"With a pair of Uggs, a pumpkin spice latte, some crystals, and a bottle Chardonnay," she said meanly.

"_I feel personally attacked,"_ he deadpanned.

Bella yawned before she stretched out beside me some more. She looked delicious all sleepy and nude. "It's because you are a basic bitch. Bitches feel attacked about basically everything. They are sensitive as _fuck_."

My girl was a little mean and quick, and I loved it.

"_Boo, you whore,"_ he threw back. No one had hurt feelings.

"What you going to do? Ask to speak to my manager?"

"_Yes! I'm going to call Alice. Tell her you're a heartless skank hoe."_

Bella shook her head as she rolled her eyes a little. "Alright, well. She already knows. Tell her that I love her and miss her."

"_Okay, baby! I will. Have a good time and take lots of pretty pictures. Love you!" _The man said in a sugary sweet voice.

"Love you, too. Try the new mini cheese and chicken empanadas. They're so good. With that creamy green sauce. Whatever the fuck it is. The stuff on the table." When she spoke, she waved her fingers around like she was imagining the table in her mind.

"_Sounds perfect! Call me when you get back into town! We'll talk about the show then. Bye!" _

"That was interesting," I chuckled as I pushed her hair away so I could start to kiss along her jaw and cheek.

"That's Demetri. He's the former makeup artist I was telling you about. He runs a sweet little vintage theater in Brooklyn now. That's where the show is. He's a doll. I've been friends with him for over a decade now. He used to be my dance partner before he got hurt. He broke his back. His husband is the most angelical person ever, being able to put up with his dramatic ass all the time. You'd love them," she explained with a little smile on her face.

"I can't wait to meet all of your friends," I whispered before I kissed her cheek again.

She smiled at me sweetly. "They'll love you." She rolled over to face me some more, running her fingers over my jaw. "I am annoyingly awake now. Would you like to get a good workout with me again this morning?"

"Yeah, that's a good idea."

Watching her exercise was quickly becoming one of my favorite things to do. She was so intense and so impressively strong for her size. And watching her tits bounce on the elliptical was hypnotizing.

I peeled off her sports bra as the shower warmed up, the steam starting to quickly fill up the glass-enclosed space.

"How can you stand to touch me like this?" She asked as my hands slid down her sweaty back. I tugged off her shorts.

"To be honest, I think you taste delicious like this," I told her honestly. "And I enjoy watching you get this way. You're so graceful."

"Thank you." She blushed, biting her bottom lip as she helped me out of my shorts. "I like watching you too," she admitted in a small voice as she pulled me into the shower. "But I like kissing you more."

We made out until we were running short on warm water. Which took forever in my house. It felt like a dream come true.

I hated myself for not flaking out on the things I had missed recording and wish I hadn't shoved so much all in one day. Bella didn't seem to mind though, always easy going. She listened to my thoughts and plans, asking encouraging questions and giving me a lot to think about along the way. She was so thoughtful.

I made us coffee while Bella made herself up for the day, doing extra to her hair and makeup. She looked video worthy for sure. I smiled to myself as I watched. I couldn't help but flirt with her stupidly the entire time. It was just an excuse to make her giggle and smile for me.

When Bella was done, her hair was completely straight and extra shiny black. Her makeup made her face look like art. If I didn't know her age, I would have thought she was in her early twenties. Her tight little skirt and rainbow shirt only added to it.

Seth looked Bella over hard, making an impressed face as he circled it with his finger. "Hey, your face! I like it! You did new fancy things."

"It's called makeup," Tyler said to him calmly. "You do look very nice. My girlfriend loves that thing with the eyeliner. But she gets mad every time she does it. What is it? Cat eyes?"

I knew what it was. I had four older sisters who all loved clothes and makeup. They had done my makeup many times for videos and such. I didn't know all the terms or products by any means though. I kept my mouth shut.

"Yeah," she nodded thoughtfully, "it's super hard. It took a couple tries to get it right."

Very seriously, Tyler answered, "I've seen her cry over it. She's thrown things. It's a mess."

Bella giggled, "I've cried too, but usually just because I've stabbed myself in the eye."

"I've seen her do that, too." He nodded in understanding, frowning a little. He looked at me, and I shook my head a little to myself, just sighing as I headed off towards the car.

As much as I hated having such a busy day, the Hawaiian breakfast place with Bella was the best way to start. She was so charming with the owner, flirting with the camera in her thickened southern drawl.

We drank all morning, Bella feeding me delicious pancakes and chicken off of her fork. She kept asking the owner thoughtful questions, completely owning the shoot in a great way. She let me play while still learning about the food and the restaurant itself. Even as she got drunk with me. She was my perfect straight man.

We had taken our time with brunch, and we had a couple of hours before we had to eat hot dogs. The beach was the closest and most interesting option. Bella had said she enjoyed the beach and the guys could always wander off to give us privacy while they took stock footage.

When we arrived, I took Bella's hand, and we strolled for a moment until we found an empty bench. She curled into my side, laying her head on my shoulder. She seemed comfortably quiet but suddenly a moment of anxiety hit me.

"I should take you out and not just for work," I blurted out.

Bella smoothed a hand over my thigh. "You didn't know I was going to be here this week. You couldn't bend your work or the weather to your will. It's okay, though. I've really enjoyed having you to myself at home."

I really liked it too, but I was still anxious.

"Wouldn't you like to go dancing or something?" She was obviously so young at heart and more adventurous than me in a different way. I worried she found me boring. Or would soon when she realized what kind of man I really was.

She shrugged, almost as if she was bored with the idea. "Sure, when we get the chance again. We went just last week."

"That was for work…" I sighed as I thought back on that night that now seemed so far away. "I wanted you so badly on that rooftop. I wanted to just grab and kiss you. I was actually trying not to cry." As soon as I said it, I couldn't believe it came out of my mouth. I hated that I kept blurting things out.

"Oh, sweetheart," Bella breathed as she moved her hand on top of mine that was sitting on her bare thigh.

"Not very manly, I know." I felt so embarrassed.

Bella seemed instantly annoyed with my words. "Depends on what you consider manly. I don't see how a man who doesn't know his own emotions is much of a man at all."

"You said you weren't much of a crier."

She pouted a little. "Just because I don't cry easily doesn't mean I don't feel and understand the emotions. I just have a harder time releasing those emotions outwardly. That's a fault, not a positive. It's not a sign of strength. Boys don't cry. Big girls don't cry. It's all outdated and part of the reason people used to not live to forty. You can't hold it in. So, get that toxic _masculinity_ idea out of your head because it's just another lie your anxiety can hold on to."

_Oh._ So her dead husband didn't talk about his feelings often. I was sure she didn't want to say that. It was hard not to read between those lines though. I thought about what she said. She was right. She was a smart woman. She obviously wanted to be more in touch with her feelings than she was able to be sometimes. I understood how she felt. I rarely controlled my emotions and was often brutally controlled by them. Especially my anxiety.

It took a certain level of maturity to understand some of these things. Maturity I wasn't sure I had yet. She knew things I couldn't yet. Nine years wasn't a huge difference. Not enough to discourage me in any way. I think perhaps I liked that she was older. I was a dumbass on camera for fun, but in reality, I was a shy, anxious, quiet man. I couldn't imagine dating a twenty-one-year-old person, ready to party all the time. I had the chance to bed even younger, barely legal models, but I wasn't interested. I wondered if it was enough to discourage Bella though. I hoped not.

I became lost in my thoughts.

"I hope I didn't upset you," she whispered.

I looked over at her as I bit my bottom lip. "No. Not at all. I'm just... overwhelmed? I guess. I don't know. You're so much more mature than me, and sometimes I really feel it. It's not a bad thing, on your side. Maybe on mine."

She tilted her head up to look at me. "You are far more put together than most adults your age. It's not fair to compare us in that sense. And, I sleep on a couch most the time in footie Pikachu pajamas. You've known me a week, baby. I am a tall child masquerading as a short adult."

I wanted to giggle, but I held it in. She had told me before that she didn't like her little twin bed very much but preferred to sleep on her large overstuffed fake leather couch. I loved the image of her in Pokemon sleepwear, snuggled up like a child at a sleepover at their grandparents.

"Almost two weeks. Aw, footie pajamas? Really?" I _needed_ pictures. I had to see her in them in person.

I have a whole collection of them sent by Mrs. Brandon," she giggled. "New York is cold, and I have no one to keep me warm. I'm kind of in love with them."

"I'll keep you warm," I offered up instantly.

"You going to come to Queens and snuggle up in my twin size bed, under three blankets, because it's zero outside?" She asked. "The couch isn't big enough for the two of us."

Fuck _that._

"Or," I held my finger up, "_or_, I could keep you warm by flying you to sunny Los Angeles during the long cold New York winters."

"But, I love the winters. I wouldn't get to see snow." She was not being very helpful on purpose. I went in a different direction.

"Well... I could keep you warm by getting a nice room with a good heater and a king-sized bed. And we can snuggle up under as many blankets as you like."

Bella looked up at me curiously. "The bed size is the bigger problem?"

"I'm too big for a twin bed."

"I can see that," she said a little playfully as I put my arm around her and hugged her close to me. She snuggled close with her head on my shoulder. I put my head on top of hers.

"Maybe we should try to get a weekend away somewhere cold and snowy this winter. Since you love snow so much. Spend a couple of days in a cabin with a roaring fire, in the mountains maybe." I didn't think before I spoke, but sometimes my mouth had good ideas. Bella seemed to like it too.

"That sounds so romantic. Where do you think? Maine or somewhere in Poconos? Colorado would be so lovely."

"I've not gone to Colorado yet. I've been wanting to go to Denver," I said as I considered about all the possibilities. "It's something to think about. By the way, I have the ticket for your flight at home. It's next Friday at two. It's a nonstop one, and you should arrive back in New York at around eleven. Is that alright? Or, is that too late?"

Zafarina had arranged everything for me by my request. It was so nice to have someone to do those things for me. I wished I could get Bella to stay, but I knew that wasn't realistic. My sweet little girlfriend was too responsible to be talked into running away forever with me. Especially when she obviously loved her friends so much.

"No, it's fine. I've gotten in later. I'll still be on LA time, and there are always taxis no matter the time. Thank you."

I kissed her cheek softly.

"It's selfish. I want you to save yours so you can use it to see me whenever you want to."

"Just drop by anytime, unannounced?" She asked teasingly.

_Um, hell yeah._ I couldn't hide my smile at that idea.

"Yes, please. I love a good surprise."

She looked at me disbelievingly. "I wouldn't want to do that to you. You have such a busy schedule."

Does she not realize that I would make the goddamn time for her? Also, it wasn't like she wasn't working with me too.

"Okay, _please_. I'm not that busy. Besides, I like having you here with me. I'm honestly surprised how… It's so easy to interact with you on camera, too. You don't mind these, do you?"

"Not at all. Really," she answered with a smile. "It's a lot of fun. I get to talk to people with common interests. Eat food I've never had before. I think you're just being kind to me when you praise me about being on camera though."

No. It wasn't just me. I knew it. Jasper saw it. Tyler and Seth had seen some of her videos now, and they agreed that her personality really came across really well on camera. I didn't have enough to prove it to her yet, I knew that. But I knew I would soon enough. The comment sections of the couple of videos I had posted her in had gone crazy for her.

"Well, the only way to prove for sure is the view count. I've got plenty of videos with you coming out soon enough. You'll see for yourself. They already love you."

She scrunched up her nose and wrinkled her forehead. "You lie," she said in an extremely thick southern accent.

"Read the comments," I laughed a little. "Actually, maybe don't. Perverts. Anyway, you add a little diversity to this sausage party," I joked stupidly. She pulled back, a silly expression on her pretty face.

"Wait. Am I the token chick for your boy gang? Am I the Webby to your Huey, Louie, and Dewey?"

She was such a cute little nerd. I loved Duck tales as a kid. I watched my sister's copies obessively.

I laughed again, "only since coming to America. I had loads of female friends back home. I'd do videos with my mates Lucy, Kelly, and Melly all the time."

"It sounds like you made up those name," she joked.

"Melly and Kelly are twin sisters. Her name is Melania, really. But she goes by Melly."

Bella got a mean little smirk on her face. It reminded me of Jasper's, to be honest.

"Honestly, it still sounds made up. It sounds like the names you'd make up for fake twins in a Penthouse letter. _Dear Penthouse, the greatest thing happened to me today. I met twins with big boobies named Kelly and Melly. They let me play with them!_"

"No," I chuckled nervously, blushing in embarrassment. "Okay, well, only Kelly. A little bit. Over the shirt. And that was a drunken pash in college. It was weird. I instantly apologized afterward."

"Aw," she giggled at me. Bella scrunched up her nose in that way when she thought I was being cute. At least she thought my weird liquor-fueled snog was adorable. It wasn't too awkward for long though. Kelly started dating my friend not long after.

"She's engaged to a mate of mine now. It's nice. They're a good match. I'm happy for them."

I missed all my friends and needed to talk to them more. I was just so busy.

"Well, that's nice," she commented, snuggling more comfortably into my side. "It's always nice to watch your friends find happiness."

She let me hold her until it was finally time to go to the hot dog place to eat.

Bella had agreed sweetly to try to the spicy hot dog so I wouldn't have to suffer through it. She seemed to like spicy things way more than anyone in the group by far. She sampled the sodas first before getting her tiny hot dogs to try. She tried to eat them as neatly as possible with a fork and knife. She answered my every question, giving me detailed answers about the food. It was a dream for the video. It was exactly what I needed.

Then she got to the spicy one.

Her face got very serious. Bella quickly drank some of the root beer she liked.

"Think I could handle the other bite?"

She shook her head. "No." She covered her mouth with her hand and a napkin. "Zero hot dogs out of five. The heat is a gimmick. Just have the regular chili dog and enjoy the flavor of something." And then she shoved a bunch of french fries into her mouth.

I had never seen her dislike something so much before. I decided to be a jackass.

"Hey, Seth, man. You wanna try the _spicy_ hot dog? Bella said it was nothing," I called to my friend when he came out of the kitchen.

"Fuck no, I'm not stupid. Her mouth is asbestos," he answered as he flipped me off. He saw right through me. I laughed hard.

"Oh, okay. I guess you're not man enough to even try," I smiled wickedly. It was easy to egg him on.

Seth took the bait right away, putting his hands on his hips as if I challenged him to a fight. "Spice level is not the measure of a man."

"_Okay_," I said dryly.

I loved fucking with him. It was payback for any betting he was doing behind my back like the asshole he was. He stomped over to the table and reached for the food, but Bella hurriedly pulled it from his reach.

"No. Don't. He's a lying liar who lies. You'll _die_."

All my brain could spit out in response was, _hahaha d'aww my girlfriend is cute. _Thankfully I didn't say it out loud.

"Oh, you see that!" Seth pointed at me aggressively. "She's nicer than you! You're a punk ass bitch."

"I should have let you eat it," she said to me with a sassy little smirk. She was right. She should have. It would have been hilarious, but it was too late now.

Tyler got tired of not being involved in the stupidity. He went over to the table and put the spicy hot dog into his mouth. He chewed and swallowed, chili staining the corners of his lips red.

"No." He shook his head as he tried to wash the taste out with his own root beer. "Yeah. That was a mistake," he said calmly.

Bella looked so unimpressed with all of our dumbasses.

"Y'all are going to hurt yourselves one day. You're going to ruin your stomachs trying to impress each other. Burn a hole like battery acid."

_Yeah, probably._

"Nah," I laughed as passed off the camera to my friend. "Now, let's eat us a five-pound hot dog."

Seth and Tyler made me suffer for my antics. They knew how to play me, egging me on to eating way too much food. I wasn't sure why I thought it was a good idea to eat a five-pound hot dog in the first damn place. Bella rightfully joined in my mocking on the ride home.

**Lying Liar who lies lol**

**I think what I'm going to start doing is posting this story twice a week. (Probably Tuesday and Thursdays) I'm not that far ahead and I wanna keep posting as smooth as possible. **

**So, there is a poll on my profile! Check it out! :D **

**This goes with chapter 18 of IP. **

**Thanks for reading! **


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty-**

Bella and I had fooled around until we wore each other out. I loved that she wanted me as much as I wanted her. She could barely keep her hands off of me, and she begged for my kiss, my hands, and my cock. I fell asleep with her in my arms quickly, but at two in the morning I woke up with a start. I had some severe heartburn from the stupid hot dog that I decided to shove down like a moron.

I slipped out of bed, careful not to wake her up. She was laying on her stomach, nude with the sheets just covering her fine ass. Her hair was fanned out around her face. Moonlight streamed in through the window, just touching her peaceful face. She had her cheek resting on the pillow so she could breathe.

I couldn't help but take a picture. She didn't move at all.

I took my joints and my cell phone with me after I slipped on my sleep pants. First I went to the kitchen to get more medicine before I took a bottle of water with me to sit outside for a few minutes.

"You're up late," Jasper greeted me when I called him.

"Mm, I got heartburn, and I couldn't sleep," I complained quietly. "We had these chili cheese dogs that were fucking delicious but holy shit it's going to destroy my chest."

"Gross. I feel you. I just take a pill every day now."

"If you just slowed down you wouldn't need it," I told him with a smirk. "I know how you fucking eat. You animal. We both know what the problem is." He laughed a little. "You know I'm right."

"Yeah, probably. So, how's the little woman?" He decided to distract me.

I laughed at his choice of words. Yes, she was indeed a little woman. "Um… She's… _Damn_. I don't know how to explain it. You're seriously going to love her. She's a tad sarcastic and mean, but she serves up with a sweet little smile and such easy charm. And I can't-" I stopped myself.

"Can't what?"

"I can't keep my hands to myself. I need to touch her. I need to kiss her. Last night we kissed for literally hours. Hours. Like we were teenagers. And I'm going to tell you something that's TMI and you will never repeat it, or I'll rip your dick off. But like… I legit didn't know sex could be this _good_. I thought it all basically felt the same and was the same with everyone but she- _Fuck_. The way she moves is like nothing I've ever felt before. All I want to do is fuck her all the time, and she's literally begging me for it. And I think my ego is going to pop at any moment if she keeps it up," I said in a hurried rush, embarrassed that I was talking to him about this. He started to laugh.

"Bad sex is still good sex."

"Okay, no doubt. But bad sex is not great sex. And it's not like once in every three or five times is this amazing. It's every day. Every time. No toys. Hell, we got some lube, and we don't even need it because she's so goddamn wet for me."

"Oh, Tony, you're turning me on," he said dryly, making me laugh. "Okay, I gotta ask. How does she move that makes it so special? What is she doing?"

"She does things with her hips, and she's good at angling herself, especially when I'm on top. Holy shit, she moves more than me when I'm on top, and it's fucking incredible. I swear Vicky just laid there like she was bored half the time. But Bella gets off with just my dick. Like… Okay, that has never happened with me with another woman. _Ever._ I've been with like three, in fairness, but I was with two of those many times and if they did it involved hands and mouths. Or, toys."

"So, Bella is a lucky girl. Most women can't that way. Something like twenty-five percent or whatever can through penetration."

"I love that you've researched this and can pull facts out of your ass."

"I'm sorry that I am a mature adult who can handle learning about sex. Learning, I might add, is how you improve. And I don't know about you, but I want somebody to talk about my fucking the way you're talking about Bella's. And I bet she knew that little fact."

"You're annoying right."

I heard him blow a raspberry. I chuckled, taking a sip of water. "So, the benefits of dating an older woman, hm?"

"I guess so. It might just be the benefit of dating Bella. I don't think I've had this much sex ever. By the way, I found that the best motivation to workout is watching a big breasted woman spend thirty intense minutes on an elliptical."

"Oh," he laughed. "I bet."

"In the sports bra from the tattoo shop and tight ass yoga pants. Also, a reason you'll love her, she lifts weights too. I watched her bench press one fifty this morning without breaking a sweat, and if she weighs one hundred pounds, I would be shocked. And you know that machine I splurged on and got for my back? She can do as much as me! And while we were working out she told me at home she maxes out some of the leg machines at her little gym. And I fucking believe her. Her thighs are so thick."

"Wow. Well, I'm not surprised she's extra into fitness. I imagine she has some mortality issues with her husband dying suddenly and all."

"Oh," I breathed. "I guess you're right. Probably. Hm," I hummed.

"I can also see why she'd want to go for a younger man for the same reason."

"Or woman."

"Did she confirm?"

"She said she liked women's asses to a gay male friend of hers on the phone. They were talking about yoga pants. So, I think so, but I'm still going to wait until she brings it up."

"Mm, probably wise. God, how hot if is she though?"

"Right?" I snorted, rubbed the back of my neck. "I keep trying to remind myself that doesn't mean I'll ever get to see her with another woman or that we'll have a threesome, but my mind is literally running wild with possibilities. But the idea of her with someone else and me watching? _Fuck._ Just holy fuck. So hot."

"It's always the quiet ones…" He teased. I clicked my tongue and laughed. "Any man would. Seriously. Don't worry, you're normal."

"Bella being more experienced than me is a little intimidating," I admitted to him. "If she enjoys being with women, I promise she's probably better than me."

"Uh, good? Yeah? Not a problem, mate. Isn't that why you become a celebrity? To date women wildly out of your league?"

I laughed again, leaning my head back on the cushion as I looked at the black starless sky. "Maybe. She asked me something the first time we were together, and I keep thinking about it."

"What's that?"

"She asked '_what if I'm really __**really**_ _kinky_.'" I chuckled at the memory. "I said '_promises, promises'_ which she liked. But I'm vanilla as fuck. I mean, I have kinky shit I think about and want to do but have never done. What if she's kinky and way more experienced and she gets bored with me?"

He began to laugh hard. "Are you fucking kidding me? She's not going to get fucking bored with you, you dumb cunt. You're six foot five, fucking handsome, smart, rich, funny, and an eager little fucking puppy dog. She seems like a good girl, but she's still going to have fun playing with you. She'll be able to get whatever she wants out of you, so you better be careful."

"She's not like that all," I promised. "She is not interested in this celebrity thing or the money. Bella… I don't know how to explain it. She's got such a good gentle, kind heart. She helped her best friend start a charity and worked in the office and as a volunteer for years now. They help people do culture stuff. And it's so cool to listen to her talk about it! It's so pure. Bella isn't the kind of woman to ask for something without reason or…" I trailed off, not knowing how to finish my thoughts. "Damn. Just… I am so excited right now. Sometimes it's hard not to just randomly start jumping up and down in joy."

"Aw," Jasper hummed, chuckling. "You should every once in a while. I think you've earned it at this point. Seriously. Good for you. I hope she's everything you say she is. I can't wait to meet her."

"Me too! Seriously, you two will love each other. You're both that kind of person who can be friendly to anyone."

"It sounds like you're dating a female me, to be honest," he teased.

"Legit, I've thought about that at a few points. And I do see the parallels," I admitted to him. "But," I popped the b, "I think the traits you share are ones that good people share. So, it's not surprising."

"You are such a suck up. Don't stop," he deadpanned.

I laughed. "Seriously. She looks nothing like you though. The complete opposite of both of us. Well, with the exception of her one very cool blue eye. Oh, and she has tattoos too but hers are hidden, and yours are all over. I took a picture of her a little while ago while she was asleep of her back in the moonlight with her sexy tattoos."

"Oo. Can I see?"

"Mm, no."

"Aw, why not?"

"Because I said so," I snorted.

"Fine. Whatever. How's your chest feeling?"

I rubbed my sternum with the heel of my palm. "It's better."

"What do you have on tomorrow?" My friend asked me curiously.

"I'm doing a panel at a con. We're going early so I can shop for dumb shit," I explained. He went with me to cons all the time when we lived together. We both loved them.

"Bella going, too?"

"Yup." I beamed to myself. "She seemed excited too. She said she liked cons."

"So, she's a nerd too?"

"She said she used to play DnD and vampire the masquerade," I said way too cheerfully. "And she loves video games. Remember how she talked about them in the video?"

"Hm," he hummed quietly. "What time is it there?"

I pulled back my phone to look. "Fuck, after three. We've been talking for ages. I'm sorry."

Jasper chuckled a bit warmly. "Don't be sorry. You know I love talking to you, too. Go to bed though. Try to get some rest. Text me later."

I smiled to myself. I was glad I had gotten to talk to him, even if my chest hurt through half the conversation. I realized I had forgotten about my box of joints. I didn't need them after all. "Yeah. I will. Goodnight."

I slipped back into bed beside Bella. She rolled into me, her hand sliding down my stomach softly.

"You okay?" She asked quietly.

"Yeah, just my tummy," I mumbled.

She snorted softly, pulling the blanket around us both. "Poor baby." Even sleepy she was somewhat sarcastic.

I pushed my face into her hair. "I know. I made myself suffer. I took something, and I'm feeling better already."

I fell back quickly in her grip. When we woke in the morning, we were in the exact same position. After a quick workout and a hot shower together, we both got ready for the day. I was just going to dress normally and wear a big ugly mask, as were Seth and Tyler. Bella declined.

That didn't mean she didn't get ready in her own way, though. She made full use of her new makeup and styled her hair into tightly braided pigtails down her back. Once again she wore knee socks, this time with a blue jean skirt and the perfect Star Wars shirt. It was the same one she had worn the day we went to the zoo together.

She was hot as _fuck._

Bella held my hand as we walked through the crowded space together. I was having way too much fun shopping with her. I was in a good mood and indulged in my every whim. I was making lots of money, so why not? It was a weird way to show off. I had to send the bodyguards or Seth and Tyler to the car to drop my new toys off a few times.

"Can I take your picture?" I asked Bella teasingly when we had a few minutes alone as we shopped. She rolled her eyes but nodded.

I brought my camera up and snapped a few quickly. Then I switched to the video.

"Are you having fun today?" I asked her.

"A lot. It's so loud though." She made a little pouty face before it curved back into a smile. "Are you?"

"Yeah," I said cheerfully. "You're so beautiful today. I love your makeup. You're so good at it."

She blushed, her expression bashful as she smiled to herself. "Eddie, you're so sweet. Thank you. You like the green lipstick?" She smiled to showcase it for my camera.

"I do. I'd like to kiss you if it weren't for this stupid mask," I complained. She giggled. "If I thought I could get away with it I would sneak one."

"You can kiss me tonight," she offered smoothly.

"Mm, I planned on it." I pulled her closer to me with my hand on her waist.

"If I didn't hate this mask so much, I would want to kiss you right now too," she said teasingly before pulling away from me in a giggle. I swatted at her ass but just missed, making her tilt her head back in wicked laughter. She wiggled it at me and the camera.

I chuckled to myself as I turned it off and put it back in my pocket. I liked it when she showed off for me. There was something nice about the fact that she didn't really change in front of the camera though.

I was looking at the messenger bags at a booth while Bella looked at one with steampunk stuff. My nerdy and dirty mind enjoyed the idea of her in the corsets and little dresses. It was probably a good thing no one could see my blushing face.

"Hey! I know you! You're a friend of Eddie's! You were on a video today." I heard someone say, but I couldn't see where it was coming from. I quickly turned my head towards the voice, making the mask spin around. Bella laughed loudly, putting her hand delicately over the eyes.

"I am," she continued to laugh.

Embarrassed, I quickly fixed my mask.

"I really liked the one from today! I watched it at breakfast," the little booth girl said excitedly.

"Oh, which one? I've not seen yet. We filmed a bunch actually."

"The one at the tattoo shop!"

"Oh! Yeah, that was so much fun," Bella answered with a wistful smile. I smiled to myself as well.

"I loved your tattoo! It's making me think about my next ink," the girl said as she showed off her own tattoo collection on her arms.

"Wow! Thank you! Yours are great, too! I really love my new one so much. It's a little itchy right now because it's real scabby though. So, I did okay? He said I did well, but I think he was just trying to be nice to me," she asked worriedly.

"Girl, I _loved_ it. I'm glad you made a bunch with him. He needs to get some more women and especially people who aren't so... _white_. He's gotten Seth and you this year but most of his friends are white as _fuck_. He used to at least have girls in them, but it's been a while. Everyone seems so nice, but it would be nice to see a little diversity."

I could have kissed her for her answer. Yeah, she wasn't wrong. We were really white, and there were lots of guys. We needed Bella. And Bella needed to hear it. I was even happier for my mask right then. I couldn't control my face.

"I think that would be a great idea. He always likes filming with new people. It's something we've actually somewhat talked about. He moved this year so that probably has something to do with it. He's still trying to find people here. He's shyer than you'd expect," Bella made an excuse for me. I really didn't. But, I did love filming with her. She squeezed my hand gently.

"I actually ordered one of your pictures. From your website. It's a poster of like some green abstract looking piping." I could see Bella's eyes get wide even through the blurry mesh of the eye holes.

"With the subway sign beside it? I know which one you're talking about. With the weird pipes and the mosaic old wall. That's awesome! It's one of my favorite. That green so good in that picture. That one and this fallout sign are my favorites," she said with happy enthusiasm. Well, I knew what pictures of hers I would be buying next.

"Oh, my god! The one that is at night with the sign above the open door with the yellow light? That one is next when I get paid again! I'm getting them framed, too. My roommate loves them as much as I do. They are so awesome!" She praised my little girlfriend who was obviously not used to it. She smiled wildly, biting her bottom lip as she blushed and laughed a little to herself.

"Aw! You're going to make me cry! Thank you so much! I see that sign almost every day. That's actually the back way into my apartment."

"So, is Eddie like he is in the videos?" The booth girl whispered. "I mean, he seems really nice."

"He's _lovely_. Always fun to be around. Very kind and always a gentleman," Bella answered her warmly, the tone of voice making my heart double in speed. She was totally sincere and so sweet. Once again, I was grateful for the ugly mask.

"So, are you done taking pictures of him? On his Twitter, he talked about you coming over to take pictures last week," she asked curiously.

I had mentioned Bella on twitter several times, usually linking her website to a video with her in it. I had done that a few times, including in the morning. They always got lots of retweets.

"Yeah, I'm done taking them for the magazine. I'm here on vacation now with my boyfriend," she said as she pointed one of her little fingers at me with a smirk on her lips.

I liked it so much when she called me her boyfriend.

"Hi," the girl said with a grin as she waved at me. "A con is such a great thing to do on a vacation. Will you be working with Eddie again to make more videos?"

I loved her questions. They were great. I loved that Bella was willing to answer with me standing there like the eavesdropping asshole that I was.

"Yup, I think so. He offered me a job taking pictures for him, actually. It's pretty good pay_. Great _benefits. I'm considering taking it." I squeezed her hand, feeling like dancing in place.

The girl clapped her hands together happily. "Oh, yes! Please do it! Don't you live in New York, though?"

"Yeah, but I don't mind flying back and forth for a while. Flights out of New York are always cheap."

"Right. Same with L.A. By the way, I love your makeup so much. Do you do tutorials? Like on YouTube? Do you have your own channel?"

_Oh yes, helpful little booth girl. That is a great idea._ Bella could definitely make makeup tutorials on YouTube. I could help her with that. And she could do cooking ones too. Actually, Bella could do whatever kind of video she liked, and people would watch.

"Um, no, I don't. I've not watched a bunch of tutorials either, to be honest. Only a few in passing."

The girl seemed surprised. "Then how did you learn to do it so well?"

My girlfriend looked embarrassed. "Oh…. One of my best friend's is a makeup artist. He worked on Broadway for ages and now he's running his own little theater. He used to practice on me and my two other best friends. He'd give a _Ted talk_ during makeup practice about makeup before _Ted talks_ were _Ted talks_ if you know what I mean? He should do tutorials. He taught me everything."

I smirked to myself when I realized that sometimes her mouth ran away with her too. We had some interesting things in common.

Bella bought herself a dress, a necklace, and a bracelet from the very helpful booth girl. By the time she was done, it was time for me to prepare for the panel.

"I didn't think of you as the steampunk type," I said to her teasingly as I took her bags from her for at least the moment.

She giggled, "truthfully, I love costumes and stuff. That dress is kind of subtle though. I can wear it out for sure. And I love costume jewelry. The cheaper, the better. But it's not really about that. She bought something from me."

"You shouldn't feel obligated."

"Mm, well her stuff was really nice. So, it's not like I regret what I bought. I think it's all very cute. I did buy more than I would have otherwise, like the dress. I probably would have got the jewelry. But, it'll come back to me."

"Why do you say that?" I asked, smoothing my hand up her back as we moved through the crowd.

"She'll buy more from me now. And she'll tell her friends that she met me and that I was really nice. We had a conversation, and we connected. That I bought some of hers too. She'll show them my pictures, and maybe they'll buy some, too. And if not, at least I'm supporting another artist, and that's what is more important."

"Isabella, I find you very impressive," I whispered in her ear as I came to the door I needed to walk through to be on stage. In a second I would have to become Eddie. I would rip off one mask and exchange it for another.

I pulled off the big head as I put my arm around her waist, pulling her up to kiss her neck so as not to mess up her lovely makeup. She wrapped her arms around my own neck and hugged me tightly in return.

"You'll be amazing out there, Eddie," she breathed in my ear. "Break a leg, huh?"

"Yeah," I squeezed her as I lifted her up a little by the waist. She giggled again.

As soon as I stepped out Eddie came out in full force, my arms outstretched at my sides as they cheered for me wildly. Everything after that was sort of a blur. I knew what I was doing, it came naturally. But it didn't feel like me. My smile was perfectly controlled, as was my voice. Everyone was eating out of my hand and begging for more.

Afterward, there was a meet and greet where I talked to fans, took pictures, and signed autographs. I got complimented over and over again, told I was their favorite, or how they loved my work. I loved talking to them in this controlled setting with their smiles. Especially the kids.

Whenever I would glance back at Bella, she would grin at me from behind her camera. She was busy having fun taking pictures of other people in the costumes they had put on.

I wondered if maybe one day we could cosplay together. She did say she liked costumes. It was a fun idea, but one I would save for later in the relationship. Asking your tiny girlfriend to dress up as an anime character because you find it hot is probably not something you ask for in the first month.

We decided to pick up chicken for dinner on the way home since everyone was hungry. Bella sat in the backseat with me, her head on my shoulder as she held my hand.

When we got back to the house, Bella started to pull out the food from the Zankou's bags. We had gotten way too much. Two whole chickens, pita bread, and all the sides they had along with tons of the garlic sauce. We all liked it, and it would not go to waste.

"Would everyone like a beer?" I offered. Bella nodded as I kissed her cheek.

"I'll take one," Seth said cheerfully.

"Me too, boss," Tyler answered,

"You know, it's taking everything I have not to tell you about the Zankou's chicken murders," Bella said in a joking tone as she sat down at the table.

This was one of the times I wasn't sure if she was fucking with me or not. And then Seth reacted, getting very excited as he sat down too.

"Isn't that such an interesting story! Everything about it is so wild. Cancer. The bad sons. The white suit."

"This is why you're single," Tyler said meanly to Seth. "No one knows what you're saying."

He was right. I had no idea what he was on about.

"Hey! No! I do! And, true crime has been a thing for _centuries_," Bella said quickly. "It's usually just that women are more into it. But, I think it's cool that he likes it."

"I wonder why it's more of a lady's hobby," I wondered out loud as I took a leg and a breast for me along with a mix of all the sides. I threw three pieces of pita onto my plate as well.

"That's easy. Women are more likely to suffer a violent attack in their lifetime. One in two women is sexually assaulted. One in four will be abused by their partner. The number one cause of death for a pregnant woman is homicide, usually by the baby's father. And nine out of ten murders are committed by someone the victim knows. A spouse, a parent, a family member usually. Women start dealing with violence at a very young age. You have to learn about it, just to protect yourself if anything else. Then it just becomes a morbid hobby after a while," she said smoothly as if she had stood on this soapbox before.

I wasn't really sure what to think. I had four sisters and currently seven nieces. I hoped those numbers were wrong. I would kill any man that harmed my girls. Or Bella for that matter.

"Do you really think one in two women is sexually assaulted? I think I can say with a fair amount of certainty no man at this table has ever done that. It just seems so high," I insisted in horror at the thought.

Bella licked her lips before she answered. "Not only do I think that number is low, but I would also say the number is closer to seventy percent. Probably higher, honestly. Sexual assault is such a broad term, and every woman has been groped and has not reported it to anyone. But we've been taught that we've done everything wrong. My skirt is too short, my shirt too tight, I had a drink. I walked alone. You can't rape your wife. Every woman might not have been raped, but every woman has been forced into a corner, groped, or had gross threatening things said or done to them. They have been made embarrassed or catcalled for simply being a woman, at the very least. I mean... I was dragged behind a dumpster when I was like seventeen and was assaulted. He didn't rape me, but he was planning to. He was on probation for raping two young girls about six years before. He had been out for three months. Can you imagine? It's people like him who probably raped dozens, if not hundreds, of women before they get caught that make the world unsafe for women."

_Fucking motherfucker fucking son of a bitch goddamnit fuck fuckity_, my brain babbled a mix of curse words.

She looked embarrassed, and I knew she hadn't meant to say any of that out loud. Her mouth really did take over sometimes. She stabbed at her food, her cheeks heating as her eyes focused on her plate.

I rubbed her back gently. I didn't need to throw my anger out there for her.

"I'm so sorry. I'm sorry you went through that."

"It's alright. It was worse for him," she said with a forced smile. I couldn't fathom that being true.

"How is that even possible?" Tyler asked, looking at my girlfriend with wide worried eyes. Both of my friends were watching.

"Uh," Bella began to nervously chew on the side of her thumb before she answered. "_Well_... I used to carry around my granddaddy's knife, on my belt, you know. From a really young age, too. Because, of course, _Texas_. Pretty little thing with mother of pearl in the handle. Maybe three inches long. It was handy for opening things and such. Anyway... He, the guy, um... lost an eye and a testicle. I scarred his face up pretty good, too, though I don't remember too much of what _exactly_ happened. I slashed a lot, I guess? I kind of blacked out. I tend to do that if I get too stressed out. It's a problem."

Well, maybe it was a little bad for him. Still not worse. He deserved it. But, _Jesus. _

"Holy fuck!" Seth gasped loudly. He was totally impressed with her. "You don't remember what happened at all?"

"I know the basics of what happened. Obviously. He pinned me to the wall with my arms behind my back, and he tried to pull up my skirt." She looked down and swallowed. "The knife practically fell into my hands. I do remember that. How it felt slippery and sharp. I cut my palm. I have a little scar." She lifted her hand. I hadn't noticed a scar but knew I would look for it now. "He had exposed himself, and I frantically swiped low to get _that_ away from me. He kind of lunged for me and I must have panicked because I stabbed him in the eye or face. My flight or fight instinct is heavily weighted towards _fight_. Anyway, he ran one way, and I went the other. I was covered in so much of his blood. And my own. He went to the hospital, unsurprisingly, and they arrested him in the emergency room not long after. Luckily there wasn't a trial or anything I had to suffer through. They just revoked his probation and tacked on another twenty years with no possibility of early release this time," she explained, forcing a smile towards the end.

"Crispy Christ on a fucking cracker, Bella! Fight or flight? How about _shank a bitch_?" Seth yelled like an asshole. Instead of being offended Bella laughed loudly and looked totally amused, her smile sweetly embarrassed. "Don't piss you off, huh?" He pushed her arm.

"I may be short, but you know who else was short? Bruce Lee. I'll fuck someone up. I'm scrappy," she said dryly. "I don't carry that knife around anymore though. Now I have a leatherman tool, like a Swiss army knife. It was Aiden's. It has a couple of knives in it, but that's more for handy reasons. New Yorkers frown upon open weapon carrying. In Texas, it's fashionable."

I was glad Seth was there to give that to her. I couldn't have made a joke if I tried. I was fuming. Who could do that to her?

Bella looked at me worriedly, her hand smoothing over my thigh under the table. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make dinner conversation dark. Well, _this_ dark."

"It's alright," I mumbled. "I just kind of want to kill that pile of shit that hurt you and other poor women," I told her truthfully.

"Oh, no. Don't do that," she breathed. "He's got another twenty years probably in prison and killing him would bring him respite from the hellscape that is the US prison system. In Texas no less. I want him to be in perfect health so he can sit alone every night in a cell with no air conditioning with his one eye and his one ball and remember that he is sitting there because of a tiny little girl who wasn't scared of him and his sad excuse of a micropenis."

_Shit_… She was kind of terrifying. Seth was right, don't cross her.

Tyler laughed nervously, "now that's nightmare fuel. A one-eyed, one testiculed, pedophile sitting in the dark, in prison, thinking about the one that got away.

"I'm sure that's a horror movie already. Like every sequel," she said to him sarcastically before shrugging. "Not the ball part. That's all me."

"Can you imagine a knife being out while your pants are even down? Let alone anywhere close to _it_?" Seth asked as he looked between Tyler and me. "Couldn't happen to a nicer guy. Fucker deserved a Bobbit."

Tyler had taken enough of the extreme darkness and decided to slightly change the subject. "Do you like horror movies? You enjoy true crime. Seems in the same genre."

"They're fine, I guess. It depends on the movie. I've only really watched a handful in the past few years. I'm not a big movie person in general," she answered.

"Yet, you're dating an actor," Seth said sarcastically as he looked directly at me. I wanted to flip him off.

"I just don't enjoy the movie-going experience. I'd rather watch at home and Blockbuster is gone, so I miss a lot of stuff. My roommate has all the streaming services, so I catch more now than I did. But, I'm super behind pop culture, sadly," she explained to him quickly.

"What don't you like about it? Going to the movies?" I asked.

"It's expensive. They're dirty. You can't talk during them, or knit, or play on your phone. Or pet your cat. Out of every ten films made one is good, two are decent. And the rest are boring at best and hot offensive garbage at worse. I can't pause to pee. You can't drink cheap wine straight out of the bottle. I think I could go on, but you get the point," she said with a bit of sass, her head bobbing a little as her list got sillier.

"Fair enough." Tyler smiled at her. "I'm with you. I'd rather watch at home, too. Miss Blockbuster so much."

Actually, I didn't like going to the theatre all that much either unless I was with someone else. "I've only been to the movies once since I've moved. I don't want to go alone."

"When we went to see Infinity War," Seth replied.

"Stupid movie," I began to complain. Seth had loved it. We fought about it for days. "No, we're not arguing about this again. You won't change my mind. Terrible, long, boring, and stupid. A waste of great characters. I could have written a better script in my sleep. Don't _at _me with your shit."

"And, too much CGI," Bella interjected. She had a good point. "I saw it at a volunteering event. Black Panther was pretty good, though. I just want a movie with the sister and general though and their pet rhino. Sciencing shit up."

"I'd watch the fuck outta that," I agreed as I finished my beer.

"They'll have to figure out that black people AND women love good strong female characters, no matter the color, as long as she is well developed and well written. Both groups are so starved for entertainment they'd go see it no matter what. Same with Asian and gay audiences," she sighed, "but that won't happen anytime soon. Because fuck us, I guess. Why would we want an interesting movie? Good luck if you're a gay mixed raced kid. No representation for you."

"It's a shame," Seth agreed with her. We had this conversation too. "Maybe one day."

"You'd get along really well with my girlfriend," Tyler said, looking over at Bella. "I think you have some things in common. You'd agree with her on a lot of things, especially in the entertainment industry. Are you going to be in town on Halloween?"

"I fly out on the Friday after," she explained to him.

"You and Eddie should come over to my place for Halloween. We're going to grill out and watch movies, drink, pass out candy. Karaoke. Seth is coming. Some more of my friends and my girlfriend's friends, too. If you don't have any plans?" Tyler asked, glancing between Bella and me.

Bella looked over at me curiously. "We haven't talked about Halloween yet. You wanted to go out."

"I hadn't thought about it yet. I'm always down for eating, but it's up to you, love." I had just been grasping at straws when I said I liked Halloween and wanted her to spend it with me. I was surprised it worked so well.

"I meant to invite you sooner," Tyler said to me. "But, I figured you probably had better plans. Some swanky ass Hollywood party."

"Ah no, mate. I'm barely leaving the house these days." I shook my head.

My girlfriend grinned slowly, and I returned it. She looked back over at my friend. "It sounds good to me. Is it like a costume thing?"

"It's not required but encouraged. My girlfriend is dressing up. So am I."

"I am, too," Seth added. "It's a surprise. It's going to be awesome," he said excitedly. He loved cosplay too.

"Should we bring something? Food or whatever?" She asked after she nodded.

"You could bring like a side and a dessert. Or, a bunch of beer. I mean, it's up to you. Anything would be great," he answered.

"I can make something really good." She smiled at him charmingly, and he ate it right up.

"What should I bring?" Seth asked with wide worried eyes. "I didn't realize I needed to bring shit."

Tyler wasn't going to make his friend bring anything. The only reason he said anything to Bella was because she asked.

"Grab like a couple of bags of chips or cookies. Or, beer. You know, the staples. We're making hamburgers, hot dogs, sausage, and chicken. A bunch of veggies. Salad. Baked potatoes. Rice. My girl's a vegan for health reason," Tyler explained to Bella. "She's got a very sensitive tummy. So, we'll have a big spread for everyone."

"You could get her some Oreos, then. They're vegan," she said jokingly.

"Are there any Oreo murders?" I said a bit sarcastically before I could stop myself. Bella laughed, looking over at me as she widened her eyes to make herself look more innocent for a second.

"_No_, I don't think so. But, I'm still dying to tell you about the Zankou's one."

**This goes with chapter 19 of IP!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty-one-**

I couldn't relax, so I made the excuse of work, my mind swirling with anxiety. I tried to force it out of my mind, keeping myself busy with the happiness I saw on the screen. Bella worked on the couch quietly, letting me have the time I needed without a single complaint. I worked too late, getting lost in my thoughts.

When we got into bed, Bella soothingly ran her fingers through my hair as if I was the one that needed to be comforted. What did I have to be comforted over? She had gone through a thousand terrible things in her life, and she acted as if it was nothing. I had suffered no great tragedy and sometimes I found it hard to leave the house or talk to people because of my anxiety. All I wanted to do was make her life better. I wanted to take away her pain. Someone should have been taking better care of her! She was too precious to have such awful things happen to her. Why did they have to happen to her? I wanted to take care of her. I had to.

"It makes me very upset that so much has happened to you," I blurted out.

"So much happens to everyone," she answered calmly. "I'm fine. I'm worried I have too much baggage for you, to be honest, though. I didn't mean to throw that out there tonight. I didn't mean to overshare."

"It's not your fault. None of that is your fault," I answered her quickly. None of those things should have happened to her.

"I didn't say it was," Bella replied in an even tone. "Doesn't mean I want to throw it out there." _Why is she worried about that?_ I wanted to know everything that happened to her in her life.

"Is it normal to be this angry at someone you don't even know?" I hid my face in her hair. I needed its calming effects. "Someone I didn't even know existed until hours before?"

She kept stroking my hair, her fingers moving along my ear and down the side of my neck very lightly. It was very gentle.

"Hm, it's not that unusual. You don't need to be angry for my sake though. I can do that very well all on my own."

"I want to protect you," I told her honestly.

She smiled slightly at me. "That's sweet. And I'm sure you are very capable of protecting me from certain things. But you can't protect anyone constantly against everything though."

She was right. I sighed as I traced her arm. "I know. You seem delicate, but you're not at all, Bella. I was mugged once, and I just cried instantly and handed over my wallet. To be fair, I was sloshed and like nineteen," I overshared.

"Oh no," she giggled.

"He didn't even threaten me. _'Oi, mate, I'll be needing your wallet.'_ Said _'cheers_' and ran off. He gave my phone back because it was shit, too. It was downright depressing," I shared the shameful memory. She laughed again, placing her hand on her heart as she did.

"No way."

"I had a hand me down cell from my sister at the time. It was one of those flippy types. Real thin and fucking hot pink. I was terrible with phones, so I got what I got. The screen was cracked. This was when I was still living off my parents pretty much. I called my mum sobbing and still drunk. _Mum, he didn't want my phone_!" I told her.

That night was the last time my mother had ever slapped me. She was furious at me for waiting for a taxi in front of a pub and getting mugged. She got one good crack before I finally stood up to her. I never asked my parents for help after that. It was bloody fucking terrible.

"I bet that was a fun night," she teased.

"Talk about a hangover. _Damn," _I laughed humorlessly at the memory of the pain. I actually slept on my bathroom floor that night. Irina helped nurse me back to health. The fallout of that night lasted weeks.

She laid her head on my shoulder as I brought my arm around her.

"I don't know how much protection I can be, but I would shank someone for you. If I had to," she replied.

"Aw, how romantic," I teased her back with a chuckle.

"Do you not believe me?" She asked, her hand smoothing over my stomach lightly.

"No, I do. You're kind of scary," I smirked at her. She giggled wickedly before giving me a kiss. She rolled herself around and wiggled her ass until I spooned her back. It was the perfect way to get to sleep, but it wasn't enough by any stretch.

I almost fell asleep during the watch shoot, standing up. I downed so much coffee to be perky for filming the shopping for kitchen supplies. Bella was very hesitant about what to buy. I had to encourage her at every pass. She didn't like it when we checked out. I held her tightly to my side, all of us teasing her about her discomfort. She obviously hammed it up a little, but the way her fingers curled around my shirt was real. I could feel her anxiety in my body.

It took two trips. We stopped at the house to drop off our goods and to have leftover chicken for lunch. It was delicious, and the conversation was far more cheerful than the day before. After we went to Target for the rest of the supplies. It took ages to get everything inside. We were both tired from not sleeping enough the night before.

"Pizza?" I offered her as I came to stand behind her when we were finally done, my chin on her shoulder. "I know a couple of good places."

"Mm, what kind of crust?" She asked as she pressed against me, pulling both of my arms around her.

"What would you prefer?"

"I love all kinds of pizza, to be honest. But, my favorite would be New York style, then hand tossed, Chicago style, regular pan, and crispy. I just like cheese and bread," she giggled.

"A girl after my own heart," I replied as I nibbled on her ear very gently. Bella hummed, tilting her head to the side to give me better access. "What is your very favorite pizza?"

"My very favorite is a New York Style with triple pepperoni and extra cheese. But I'm not picky about toppings. I like any meat and anything but bell peppers. I don't like olives either, but I can just pick those off."

"I don't like bell peppers on pizza either," I said. "I like all the meats too. No onions, bell peppers. I don't care about olives either. I do like mushrooms though. And pineapple."

"I like pineapple with ham and pepperoni on a New York style crust," she said as she bit her bottom lip. "With extra cheese. Actually, I've added mushroom to that before."

"Okay, so I'll look up best New York style crusts, and we'll get a triple pepperoni with extra cheese and the pepperoni, ham, pineapple, mushroom, with extra cheese. Anything else?"

"Lots of red pepper."

"Mm, yeah, I have noticed you might like spicy stuff," I joked. She giggled again, twisting in my arms. "How is that spicy honey?"

"I like it. It's a nice combination with the cheese and pepperoni. I like trying new and weird pizzas, and I tried it in Brooklyn at a hipster place. I keep meaning to pick some up to try at home on other stuff but it's expensive, and I don't want to waste it on Alice. She's an uncultured swine."

I chuckled. "What's the last interesting pizza you ate?"

"Mm. I had a chicken caesar salad pizza, and when I ordered it, I thought it was going to be maybe a caesar dressing sauce with chicken. But no, it was a hot pepperoni pizza with a cold crisp chicken caesar salad on top. And it was shockingly delicious, to the point when I have frozen pizza at home now I almost always put a salad on it."

"You live in the pizza capital of the world, and you're making frozen pizza?" I teased her.

"Oh, I have a special cooking stone in my oven that gives them a nice crust, and we put extra cheese and stuff on it. We eat it at least once a month," she said, smirking up at me. "Frozen pizza is easy to make nice at two in the morning, and it's lazy."

"Do I have this special cooking stone now to make better frozen pizza?" I asked her curiously. She nodded, resting her chin on my chest as she smirked a little.

"You could make a video where you improve store-bought stuff," Bella said thoughtfully. "Pizza is an easy one."

"You'll have to show me." She rolled her eyes at my answer. "Hey, I am only good at ordering it."

"I believe you," she purred before kissing me. "Now go look those places up. I'm hungry."

We sat outside on the loveseat, Bella between my legs, while we smoked and waited for our dinner. She lounged against me, one of my arms around her waist. I couldn't get her close enough. When we made love that night, she whimpered my name, begging for me to take her with her nails dug deep into my shoulders.

The next day I finally had to do real work I was getting paid to do, and Bella couldn't help me with most of it. She didn't seem to mind though. I tried to hurry through everything, but it took forever. I filmed like six videos worth of content during that time. When I came out of my office, I realized that I wasn't the only one that had been working.

Bella had unboxed everything for the kitchen and cleaned it before putting it away neatly. My kitchen looked amazing. It was packed with the stuff that it deserved to be filled with. It was too nice to be wasted on my takeout addiction.

"Wow. Would you look at that? You did that in what... Three hours?" I looked at my watch. "I don't even know what most of it does!"

"I can show you," she replied with a smile.

We wouldn't have time this visit and next time I would be going to her. But she was thinking about the future, just like I was. I knew she wanted to be there with me and she really did want to show me.

"I'm looking forward to it," I breathed before I pulled into a kiss, my hands on her soft cheeks. When I pulled away, I brushed my nose against hers. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I enjoyed doing it for you," she answered in an airy voice.

"Surely not the cleaning part. Or, the part where I paid," I chuckled. She pressed herself into me, a smile spread across her lips still.

"I meant the shopping, but the cleaning wasn't bad. I listened to a podcast."

"Oh, what about?" I asked curiously.

"True crime comedy."

"How is that possible?"

Bella looked a little embarrassed. "It's a thing. It's weird. It's hard to explain. I listen to a few of them. It's basically comedians talking about true crime. It's so niche it hurts."

"Maybe I'll have a listen someday," I said as I pushed some of her hair away from her face.

"It's good for things like road trips when you don't want to fall asleep," she said jokingly. "I'm

listening to a five-part series on Jack the Ripper right now."

"Oh well, lots of people like Jack the Ripper stories. Wasn't he the Queen's doctor or something?" I said as I went to the fridge to get me something to drink. Bella looked at me like I was stupid.

"No," she laughed."That's a dumb rumor. One of many. It probably wasn't a single person but a couple of people, most likely local because people kill where they live for some stupid reason. Or the neighborhood over. The area was filled with butchers with the ability to do what he did. A Queen's doctor wouldn't go to the worst neighborhood to kill. He could kill the finest quality sex workers if he so pleased. He was rich as fuck after all."

I had a feeling I was very soundly corrected, but at least she did it funnily. I laughed a little.

"I guess you're right. I don't know a lot about crime. My mum is a retired criminal judge, so I think she tried to keep that away from us kids growing up."

She nodded thoughtfully. "Also Australia has less of it. Only a few big things, really. I remember seeing all of this terrible stuff all the time on the World News because my grandma watched it every single day."

"No wonder you like true crime."

"No," she laughed again as a wistful look came across her face. "I like true crime because she recorded every single Forty-Eight Hours, Law and Order, 20/20, and Unsolved Mysteries and watched them over and over again on VHS. I remember laying on the floor watching the big wooden television set behind my grandma's recliner, in a corner. My little fort. Watch for hours on rainy Saturday afternoons. Or, after mass on Sunday. Then we'd play dominoes and make dinner together."

"That sounds nice, actually. The dinner and dominoes part. But, a wooden television?" I couldn't envision what she was talking about. She flushed, looking embarrassed by my question.

"You've never seen a TV from the eighties in the big wooden box with the black chunky knobs that clunked every time you tried to turn to one of maybe ten channels?"

_Oh, like a really old television… Of course._ I was a bit dim sometimes. I decided to quickly change the subject back to the original reason I had come out to discuss with her before I got distracted. I had finished my work, and I could play.

"Oh, I guess. I just didn't think about it like that. I was thinking-" I shook my head quickly. "Nevermind, I'm an idiot. Anyway, I came in here to see if you want to come to play with me."

She considered me for just a second as her face got somewhat serious. "I'm not that easy. I do need a little more foreplay than that." I had to suck in my giggles. If she could be funny, so could I. I slapped her ass hard, making it jiggle with my face blank as well. She nodded her head, still being serious. "That seems fair."

I finally broke and laughed, "do you want to come to play video games with me for a capture?"

"What are you doing exactly?"

"I'm going into the playground mode of the game I'm trying to make a sponsored video for and doing dumb shit for said video. It's for the battleground mode release for _Mega-Annum_. I'm making a few videos for it," I explained in a quick rush that obviously went over her head.

I expected her to tell me no.

"I've never played before," she said instead.

"That's okay. We're going to be in playground mode like I said and you can learn to do the controls while I piss about," I said hopefully.

"I don't think my laptop could handle the game. It's a few years old."

I had indeed seen her scuffed up little laptop and was prepared for that. My backup desktop was only a year and a half old and was still amazing. The only reason I upgraded was that a sponsor gave it to me for free.

"I set my other computer up for you already."

She shrugged. "Sure, I guess. I'm not very good at video games, even if I like them. Especially shooters. And, I don't know if I've ever played one like this on a computer. Just consoles."

"Don't worry about it," I told her with a smile as I led her back into my office where everything was waiting for us. "I upgraded right after I moved here, but I still have my other as a backup."

Bella sat down slowly in the chair. I gave her a set of gaming headphones, and she put them on. They looked huge on her. It was too fucking cute.

"So, what is the goal of this game exactly?" She questioned me.

"The main part of the game is a battle royale, ninety-nine against one. Last man standing wins. You gather clothes, materials, medicines, weapons or whatever to help you survive as long as possible. There is a barrier that pushes in to bring the players closer together until it closes completely. People behind the barrier die. You don't need to worry about that though because it's just going to be you and me and you can't permanently kill me because there are respawns in this mode," I babbled excitedly. I was just happy she had agreed to play with me.

"How do I move?"

I quickly showed her the buttons, and she copied my movements. I could smell her lovely scent in my nose as I did.

"But they have the key above each item if you forget and if you want to change anything, I can in the menu."

"I'll try it like this first," she answered almost nervously.

Bella played around while I actually built a board game for us to play. She destroyed everything on the map, making it very easy to get materials and find a clear space to work.

"Okay, so, the game I want to do is the first to get three matching guns in the same color wins. Everyone starts with full health. Some tiles have meds while others offer death," I explained in a stupid voice. Bella rolled her eyes but scrunched up her nose.

For as timid as Bella seemed at the beginning, she wasn't once we got started. She would talk back and shoot at me. Several times she caught me off guard. It was hilarious to see her expression as she 'killed me' so that I had to come floating down from the sky with my parachute. Bella won the first and third round of my made-up game. It was simply luck. I was having a blast just watching her laugh, even if I pretended to be annoyed. Everything she did was perfect for capture I needed for the sponsored video. I had to do a bunch of videos for them, but this was by far the most fun.

When we were done, she came to sit on my lap. She looked at all the junk I had won or bought for the game. Bella smirked to herself as she looked through. I decided to entertain myself by kissing her neck.

"Do you want to play a game together? A real one? You weren't a terrible shot," I asked.

She looked back at me curiously. "When you were standing still. You let me kill you." Probably not as much as she thought. Sometimes she genuinely got me.

I shrugged. I just wanted to see what she could do even if it weren't a perfect match. "We could play in pairs, and I could carry you to a victory."

"You're rather confident," she said with a slight smirk on her face.

"Well, I'm not _terrible_ at the game. I bet I could get you an easy win at least." I was talking out of my ass. I was pretty good. Okayish. I was going to do my damnedest to win in front of her though.

Her smile was mischievous. "Think you could do it on the first try?"

I smiled in return. "Are you challenging me, Isabella?"

Suddenly she leaned in, taking my face in both of her hands so she could pull me into a remarkable kiss. Placing my hand lightly onto her shoulder, I just held on as she ravished me. With my lip between her teeth, she pulled away.

I so badly wanted to fuck her right then.

"If you win the game for us I will do whatever you want, and if I win, or rather _lose_, you have to do a video of my own design," she said in a seductive purr that made my brain melt.

"Okay," I answered before she kissed me again. "Wait. What if it's dirty? The things I want to do?"

She looked at me like I was being kind of stupid. But, I was all about the fine print.

"I was kind of counting on it to be? I'm only doing this because I think it's going to be easy for me," she answered as she shook her head and rolled her eyes. "But, both of us have to be alive at the very end. I mean, obviously you. But it won't count if I die in the middle like that guy at the charity show and you win. Full escort mission style, baby."

"Sure, sure. But, what if I want to do something really kinky?"

"Do you want to spank me again?" She asked sensually against my ear before kissing her plush lips down my chin. She looked up at me innocently. "I hope so."

_Fuck yeah. _

"Shall I take you over my knee?" I asked as I moved my fingers into her luscious hair.

"Yes, sir," she whispered against my skin before lightly kissing my cheek.

Then she got up, bent over and kissed me as she had done before, but this time at an even better angle. Her breasts were practically swinging in my face.

"I hope you win," she said as she walked over to the other computer, her hips swaying.

_Holy fuck, she's doing it on purpose._ Jasper was right. I was easy. I kind of liked it though, and it annoyed me that I did.

"I... I-" I began, pouting. But I didn't know what I was going to say. I adjusted myself, and Bella watched with a knowing smirk.

Yeah, she was going to be very good at playing me when she wanted to and getting what she wanted. Hopefully, she only abused her powers in fun ways like this.

I tried to start off strong. Instead, I almost died. Bella actually saved me though she would have had to be truly terrible at the game not to. _Though, it is her first game._ After that, I played more cautiously. My girlfriend was far more helpful at the game than that guy I played with at the charity match. She did say she liked video games though. She even killed two more people on her own while they tried to kill me. She seemed to accept her primary role as mule and healer with grace.

I had been hoping for a smoother final battle. I was not given that. They were both pretty good, unfortunately. I was desperate, so I put Bella in a wooden box filled with protective traps. I almost got one of the other team when the other player joined in their assault. I knocked one down just as I was knocked out myself as well. Bella leaned over the edge of her protective crate and fired several times with a shotgun from above. It hit him a few times, surprisingly killing him and winning us the game.

"We won!" I literally jumped up and down like an idiot automatically.

"Yes, but you were knocked out, my dear," she said as she pointed at the screen. I stopped.

"Oh," I breathed. "Well..._Damn_." She was right. I had been knocked out, and she did say both of us. I didn't win us the game, either. Bella did. The win counted towards her stats. My girlfriend had accidentally on purpose won her very first game I had been practicing for years.

I was a little dumbfounded.

Bella looked over at me with an impish grin. "Don't worry, I'll still let you spank me tonight."

**This chapter goes with chapter 20 of IP.**

**Thanks for reading! **


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty-two- **

"Oi! That's not fair!" I snapped automatically like a sour child as I stomped over to the computer Bella was sitting in front of. She left the game and was on the screen that was showing her the loot she just won. I had never seen anyone win their very first match and I was both happy that I captured it so I could post it at some point and annoyed that I would end up forcing myself to watch my own stupidity over and over again. I wondered what terrible thing she would make me do.

"I did say both of us had to be alive at the end," Bella said in dry amusement.

She was right, of course. But that wasn't what she meant, and she knew it. We both knew it.

I continued to pout, "but, you were talking about yourself."

She smiled to herself wickedly.

"Yes. You were more interested in finding out about your possible kinky reward than thinking about the fine print."

I felt like such a jackass. I was just praising myself like an asshole for my attention to detail. And the most obvious thing that I ignored bit me right in the ass.

"I..." I began but didn't know what to say. "Maybe, but I carried you for most of the game. I protected you," I began to defend myself like it made a difference.

My brand new girlfriend found a chance to fuck with me and happily ran with it. "Hm. Yeah. True. But, I was never knocked out, and you had to be revived at the beginning. And, I killed that person on my own with a crappy pistol."

Bella was annoyingly smarter than me. I had forgotten my near death at the beginning, bruising my ego further.

"But, I _deleted_ so many people!" I whined.

"You sure did, baby. But, the most kills don't win the game right? It's the last man standing like you said," she mused.

I felt like a moron, and it pissed me off. Not at her, of course. She was openly playing me, and I allowed myself to just act foolishly for her entertainment. Jasper was right, she was going to be able to get whatever she wanted out of me but it mainly because I was a gullible twit who was thinking with his penis.

Bella was a much better gamer than I expected her to be though. She wasn't perfect, but she was quickly improving. It would make a great video to work on… in a couple of weeks when I wasn't sour about her prowess over me.

"God, I really do wish I could give you a smack on the bum," I said playfully as I wound my hand around her ponytail and gave it a sharp tug. She never looked away from me as I did, a little smirk on her face as she appraised me.

"Do you think I was joking when I made the offer?" She asked as she finally turned the chair to face me. It was just the right height to bring her exactly to mouth level with my crotch. Bella leaned forward, holding my gaze, and smoothed her nose down the front of my jeans while she ran a finger up the back of my thigh. I swallowed hard, becoming instantly aroused as I watched her.

I had always enjoyed spanking. BDSM, on the whole, was fascinating to me. I had always wanted to explore more of it, both sides of being dominated and submitting, but I wasn't sure there was anyone I would ever feel comfortable doing that with. Vicky and I had played at mild bondage, like most couples who had been together a little while, but it wasn't anything too wild. I wasn't sure what Bella was into. We hadn't discussed it much, though she seemed to love all the things I was doing with her. I wasn't sure I was confident enough, but I wanted to try. I wanted to try everything with Bella.

"Would you like it if I were rough with you?" I asked her as I moved my thumb over her lips. She drew it into her mouth and began to suckle on it softly. My breath caught in my throat as she licked her tongue over the tip. Pulling it from her lips, I traced them before moving over her chin until I held her tiny neck in my large hands. I knew as I squeezed I could easily snap her neck. She trusted me completely. "I don't want to hurt you."

"I don't think you're capable of that," she answered without a doubt.

"I don't think that's true," I replied as I squeezed to make a point. I moved my thumb over her lips lightly once again.

Her eyes grew mischievous, and she bit me, drawing her teeth over my thumb hard. I hissed in pleasure. Grabbing her chin so she couldn't bite me again, she smiled triumphantly.

"I want to feel your hands on my skin long after I'm gone. I want to see your marks all over my body," she said in a voice that dripped sex and wanting.

The idea of marking her as mine for weeks to come was too tempting.

_Well, if she wants to me to be a caveman… _

I picked her up easily and threw her over my shoulder. Bella let out a playful squeal before it dissolved into a happy giggle. I could tell this was going to be so much fun. I smacked her exposed cheek, her dress catching under her stomach. She was wearing the pink lace panties I had picked out again. And I knew she was wearing them for me.

Her ass looked so good I couldn't resist biting it. It was so perfectly soft and round. She kind of laughed until my teeth sunk in, changing into a gasp in her throat. Once again I spanked her, my palm connecting harder with her skin this time. She moaned softly, her hands twisting into my shirt as she held onto me.

"Is that what you would like, my darling?"

"Harder," Bella said softly. I did, earning a soft gasp. "Harder," she begged. I did as she asked, making her moan in pleasure. It was harder than I would have expected her to like. "Yes..._Please_."

I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I went to my couch and carefully arranged her so that she over my knees, her ass high in the air as I pushed her dress away. She was giving me full access to play with her, and I was going to take full advantage of that. I touched and massaged every inch of her ass and thighs, squeezing the softness. Every strike made my fingers tingle, leaving red marks in my wake.

I was enjoying it far too much. I allowed myself to go farther and farther, her moans spurring me on. Slowly running my hand up her smooth back before I grabbed a handful of her hair so I could watch her expression, I let myself get completely into our play.

"Your skin is turning red..." I breathed as I looked at all the quickly fading marks I was putting on her skin, my eyes raking over the fabric of her very wet panties. "Shall I stop?" I asked teasingly, hoping she would allow me to continue as I pulled the lace up over the curve of her ass. I had the irresistible urge to kiss it.

"No," she said instantly as I kissed her there. I smiled to myself as I sat up and slapped where I had just lovingly kissed her cheek. She whimpered into the couch, "mmm..._yes_!"

She moaned so loudly at my rough touch, squirming and bucking up towards every strike. I wondered if she could feel my painful erection rubbing against her stomach and breasts. I would very much like to do this again with her with nothing in between. I would have cum simply from the friction.

I then removed her pretty pink panties, finding new places to spank and touch.

Finally, I couldn't resist her wetness anymore.

"You are so delicious. _Fuck_, I love how that feels," I moaned as I pushed a finger inside of her. She was beyond wet, and she responded instantly. I added another, making her moan loudly into the couch cushions, twisting and pushing in and out of her quickly.

I wasn't sure how she was enjoying herself as much as I was, but clearly, Bella did. I wondered if she could get herself off like this, laying on top of me as she was with my fingers inside of her from behind.

"I want you to play with yourself," I said as I pulled her hair back. She wantonly moaned, her eyes sliding closed as she pushed her hand underneath her body and under the fabric of her dress bunched underneath her.

"Please, please, _please_," she begged between moans, her body getting tight very quickly as she came on my fingers. She twisted away automatically when she finished it was so intense.

Bella moved quickly to sit back on the couch on her knees so she could help me free my aching cock. She made a hungry sort of sound as she took me into her mouth. My head fell back against the couch, trying my hardest not to grab the back of her head and fuck her mouth roughly like I wanted to.

But what she was doing to me was so much better though. Bella used her teeth and tongue, playing with the tip aggressively.

"Oh, God." The words echoed in my ears.

I needed to distract myself, or I would finish way too soon. So I started to focus on her ass again. I began squeezing and massaging before dipping back between her legs. She was incredibly wet, and it was so easy to slide in just the right way. Bella moaned, humming around me. She came again violently, it gushing around my hand after just a few moments of playing with her again. There was so much of it. It dripped down her legs to her knees and soaked her dress.

_Holy fuck._ I fucking loved it.

I pulled her up by the hair before I knew what I was doing and roughly brought her into a kiss. I needed her mouth on mine. Her fingers clung to my shoulders. Picking her up, I had her straddle my lap as we continued to kiss.

When I began to kiss along her neck, she reached between us and took me in her tiny hand so that she could jerk me off. Her skin was soft and warm as well as wet from playing with herself. I bit down on her bare shoulder as feral noises rumbled from my chest. All I could do for the moment was hold onto her, tightening my grip.

Then she began to rub my cock against her clit, jerking me against her wetness. Bella's eyes closed and her mouth formed an O as she used me to pleasure herself. It was _gorgeous_. She was barely able to keep herself upright, her skin hot pink and dotted with sweat.

I slid my hand around her fingers, taking over so that I could go as fast I wanted to against her lips. She pushed her face into my neck, kissing and nipping as she cried out my name in my ear.

Bella's head fell back, her dress still bunched up around her hips as I savagely masturbated against her. Once again I felt her hard orgasm dripping down on us both, driving me to my own. She quickly grabbed my face, pulling me into a desperate kiss.

I couldn't stop touching her, my hands finding her ass. I was still savagely horny, my need not satisfied.

"Goddamn. You turn me on more than any woman I've ever met. I want to make you cum again. I love it so much. I want to bury my face between your legs and see how many more times I can get you off with my mouth," I confessed as I wound my fingers into her hair. She moaned her approval of the idea.

I rearranged us on the couch so that I was on top of her as we continued to kiss. Pushing her hands above her head, she smiled against my mouth as her hips pushed up towards mine.

I was desperate to taste her like this, hot, wet, and literally dripping with both of our cum. I moaned as soon as my tongue touched her. It turned me on so much. I wanted every single drop of her, of us, mixed together. Every inch of her was explored and probed, licked, kissed, and touched. Finally, I pushed my fingers inside of her, hoping to feel her orgasm again.

"Fuck," she whispered as her first hit her, her fingers in my hair as she writhed. "Oh," she sort of laughed as her back arched up, squeezing tightly around her fingers. It was gentle, and I nursed it slowly until she relaxed back on the couch. I knew she could handle more though. "Edward," she shuddered as my name fell from her lips with her second. I was less gentle this time, moving my fingers faster as I sucked on her clit until she was bucking up off the couch and screaming my name. I felt so lost in what I was doing what I lost count of how many times she came around me.

Then she tried to twist away. I don't know what kind of confidence came over me, but I lifted up and pulled her back into place with my hand on the back of her neck. "No. One more," I demanded against her mouth, rubbing my now recovered erection against her very sensitive and wet clit again. I would have fucked her hard, but we didn't have any condoms, and I wasn't going to stop to go to the bedroom.

We were both squirming and calling out each other's name as we both came again. I felt her give me what I wanted freely as if her body would do whatever I wanted.

Afterward, my body suddenly felt frail. My arms gave out as I buried my face in Bella's neck. I could have stayed like that forever.

_Well, that was incredibly erotic and fun. _

I lifted up to look at her face, smiling a little as I lightly kissed her lips.

"I might have ruined your couch," she joked after a few minutes of our wonderful cuddling.

"I doubt it but worth it," I smiled to myself. "Remind me to just hide condoms all over the house so I can fuck you in every room."

"Yes, sir," she said as she playfully high fived me. I laughed a little as I brought her closer to my body. I felt so good. I was on cloud nine, literally.

She began playfully in a sweet tone, "quick question, did you take a class or were you a lesbian in a past life? Because damn. I don't think a man has ever done those things to me."

"Oh. Um," I kind of laughed nervously. "I uh...really? It's okay? I'm doing well?" What I was doing was more for me than her, selfishly. I needed her taste on my tongue.

She lifted up and made a little face like I was being almost stupid. "How many times did I cum?"

"I don't know, to be honest," I admitted.

"Neither do I. I lost count. That's the point."

I couldn't help but smile at her words. I loved what she did for my confidence levels. Bella leaned in slowly and lightly kissed me before resting her forehead against mine. I would have been happy to stay there for the rest of forever with my scorching hot girlfriend in my junk crammed office on my comfortable overstuffed couch.

"I'm really sticky," she breathed, glancing over at me with wide eyes.

I might have been happy to lay in my own spunk but, of course, she was not. She must have felt sticky all over. I know I did. I sat up quickly. "Oh. Right. Why don't we take a bath?"

I had never once used my bathtub before. I wasn't against them, I just usually felt awkward in them. But I wanted to with her. I liked to watch the bubbles slip down her skin. She lounged on me in the water, her little foot brushing against my calf.

"So, I'm not working any Wednesday already, but I've decided to take Thursday off as well. I have to work on Friday, but I already arranged it so I don't have to go in until after your flight," I let her know. I could film myself eating dumb shit and hurting myself after she left. I didn't need to hide in front of the camera anymore.

She looked back at me over her shoulder. "I don't mind that you work. I understand."

"But, I'm always working, and I want to spend the last two days with you before you leave. I'm already dreading it. So, I want to spend every possible second with you. I'll never get my fill, but I'm going to have to try."

"I am too," she admitted, looking away from me. "But, it might be a good thing. We're moving so fast, and we need to go back to our normal lives to see if we can make it work outside of this weird little bubble that we've created. We've been together two weeks solid now, we need time to process our feelings on our own."

"I don't think you have to leave for that." If she needed space, I could get her an apartment in LA. She didn't need to leave the state.

"It's not for forever. You'll hopefully be able to stay for a few days at Thanksgiving."

It seemed so far away, and I already missed her, even if she was still sitting nude in my lap.

"What about after that?"

"I think we need to get closer to Thanksgiving to figure that out. We don't exactly know your work schedule," she answered very practically. Annoyingly so. I sighed a little.

"I suppose you're right. I'll be filming for a week in December, mid-month. I know that at least. I've got a small part I'm shooting for."

"What will you be filming?" She asked curiously.

"It's a tech drama. I'm not sure it has a title yet. I'm not the lead, obviously. I'm the bad guy's number one henchmen," I joked. I wasn't actually sure what my name was. I wasn't going to be given my lines until I got on set. Everything was real hush-hush. "Most of that shooting will be several fight scenes. I've got some training for it next month in November. I've never done anything like it before."

"That sounds like fun though," she said sweetly. "Who is the lead?"

"Matt Damon. I get to film with him four of the days. Oscar Isaac is the bad guy boss that I work for. Jodie Foster is in it, too. I have a scene with her too where I kill her. But, it's quick. I just basically shoot her in the head after a witty one-liner," I explained, freaking out inside. I sure hoped it was witty. I was telling her things I shouldn't have, but she wouldn't tell anyone. I had never worked with such big stars before. All of them were amazing actors and in a different league than me. I felt so out of place and wasn't sure if I would be able to pull it off.

"That seems so exciting," Bella breathed as she pressed her soft lips to my cheek. "So many good actors." She was referring to me as one of those _good actors_. I didn't believe that for a second.

"I never expected to be a real actor. I just wanted to do voices," I admitted. Bella looked back at me, her eyes were worried.

"You don't have to do things you don't like, Eddie."

She had a point. I wanted to branch out though. I did enjoy acting actually. I hated the other stuff that came with it. I leaned my head back, thinking of how I wanted to answer her. "I don't _dislike_ it. I don't know. It's complicated. I feel like a fraud. And, I hate feeling like meat. And, I hate being with the press. With a few exceptions." I moved my hand so that the bubbles dripped over her skin. She shook her head at my words.

"You're not a fraud. You worked very hard, and you are a very talented entertainer."

I lifted up so I could look at her. She truly meant it. I leaned in and kissed her cheek, pressing my nose against it for a long moment before I brought my chin to her shoulder. I wondered if she knew what she was doing for me. How she was making me feel.

"You make me feel so confident. I think you could encourage me to do anything. I need you to be around all the time to just be my personal cheerleader."

"It's just because you're all euphoric from the new romance chemicals in your brain," she joked.

"Are you not?" I asked worriedly. Was I the only one falling? I knew I was in love with her but the way she looked at me… I felt like she was too, but I wasn't sure. I hoped.

"I didn't say that I wasn't, I just know what it is. I understand, though. What it's like to have someone be unconditionally supportive and encouraging. Alice is my cheerleader, to use your word. I hope I can continue to be yours," she said soothingly. They were the perfect words.

I kissed her ear lightly. I was so glad one of knew what they were doing. "I think I'm going to like her. And, I adore you."

_I love you. _

She kissed my knuckles, much like she had the day of the jump, and tugged it around her waist as she snuggled in closer to me. Bella tilted her head up to smile at me a little. "Yeah, I like you, too. You're kinda cute," she said teasingly, lightly. She wiggled her ass on my lap, making me chuckle. She smoothed her fingers over my cheek. "I really do, Edward."

I spent the following day doing the most boring voice-overs for ads. I was doing a whole series of commercials for Lays for Super Bowl ads. It was crazy repetitive, but I was making a shit load of money. It did go on much longer than I would have liked it too though.

Bella said she had dinner half started and waiting for me when I texted her. I sent Jasper a message asking about his day before I started to drive. He sent a message but got sent an automatic message that I couldn't answer. So, he called. I put it over the speaker.

"Hello, darling," he chirped.

"What are you doing?"

"Taking a lunch break. What about you?"

"Just got out of the box. Heading home now. How are you doing?"

"Good. Tired. Working too much. The regular. Dad came by last night," he sighed heavily. "You know how that is."

"Tell me you didn't give him more money," I complained. He didn't answer. "It's not helping him, Jasper."

"Alright, but would you say no to your mum if she asked you for some cash?"

"My mum would rather eat her Prada handbag than ask for a handout, but I know what you mean. It's just not fair to you. I hate it so goddamn much. Do you need any help with anything?" He had already gone into debt for the man and it made me furious.

"Tony, don't."

I began right away, ignoring him, "I'm serious. Say the word and-"

"Stop it!" He growled. "I'd rather eat your mother's purse too than take your handout."

"Then come work for it," I whined. I hated having this stupid fight over and over again. I wasn't going to give up, and we both knew that. We had it the six months leading to my moving and we were going to have it until I got my way.

"Oh, stuff it. That isn't working," he grunted.

I stopped at a red light, staring at the display with Jasper's name written across it on my dashboard. I wanted to reach through it as smack him. That was the fucking point. It was work that was fun, so it didn't feel like it. I flipped off the display with both fingers until the light turned green.

"Fine! Just fucking ask for help if you need it. Okay? Don't be proud. You're not your dad if you ask for help."

He sighed, "I don't need your therapist routine right now, Tony."

"It's because I care about you," I sighed in return. "You know that, right?"

"I know. I do. It's nice. Just, don't. Okay?"

"You could consider it a loan," I offered instead, trying it from a different angle.

"Stop," he laughed. "Why are you relentless?"

"It's how I get what I want. And I want you. Here. With me." There was a long pause. "It would be so much fun. Fucking come on!"

"Oh, I have no doubt," he said under his breath. "I need to get back to work. Are you home yet?"

I wanted to pout and flip him off again, but I was in the middle of driving. "Almost."

"Still in love?" He asked to distract me. He didn't want to go back to work, just get me to stop bugging him.

I laughed, giving in to him a little. I didn't want to stop talking either. "Yeah. I am. This girl makes me feel like Superman. She's everything you could want in a person."

"God, you're such a sap now. I hope I find someone who can turn me into such an idiot," he teased me.

"You're always an idiot around me, so…" I trailed off jokingly. He laughed quietly. "Wait! Do you love me, darling?" I said in a baby voice.

"No," he snapped before abruptly hanging up on me.

"Send a text message to Jasper," I commanded my phone as I continued to drive. "Your mustache is stupid. Send." I chuckled to myself.

When I got to the house, I had a picture waiting for me of an extreme close up of his face, in the sunshine with his sunglasses. He was flipping me off in the photo, his finger reflected in his shades twice. It was almost artistic. He always had a good eye.

The house smelled amazing when I got in. Bella had made fresh pita bread and hummus for Tyler and Lauren's party. She told me about her day while we drank and she cooked. She put the meal together very quickly, making me some delicious steak fajitas for dinner. Listening to her talk just seem to suck all my stress away. I wanted to get lost in her words as she told me about the art that she obviously loved.

"Bella, I'm already so spoiled to your cooking," I admitted to her after finished eating. We were sitting outside again, her leaning into my side on the loveseat beside me. I pressed my face into her hair, breathing her in deeply. She smelled like bread from all of her baking. "How am I supposed to go back to take out now?"

"Good! Good! It's all part of the plan," she teased playfully. I laughed a little. She was joking, but I couldn't help but think about our future.

"Mm, make him too fat to get away?" I asked in a playful voice.

"Yessss," she said wickedly as she moved her hand over my stomach. "Exactly." She was showing out for me. I loved it. I could do it too.

"Yay, fat!" I decided to be an idiot for her and clap. She smirked. "I look forward to my epic dad bod, darling," I said very sarcastically. She was never going to meet chubby Tony.

_No way. No how. Over my lean dead body. _

"Hm, how long do you think it'll take? Nine months? Talk about food babies," she said as she poked me.

"Six. I'm an overachiever." I rubbed my stomach to make a point. She giggled at my stupidity.

"I don't think it will be that quick. Maybe after six months of living together straight."

The idea of living with Bella sounded terrific. We already were, _sort of_. But was there a future where we were going to be living with each other? Was she already thinking of that future too? I wondered if that was something she would want. I breathed her scent in again, closing my eyes as I pushed my face into her beautiful thick curly hair.

"I like the sound of that."

"Too soon," she answered as she patted my thigh tenderly. She was right, of course.

"I know, I just like how it sounds," I said as I pulled back to look at her. Her eyes were so lovely, looking up into mine. I couldn't resist her lips a moment longer, kissing her with all my hope and desire for whatever future we were going to have together.

**I can feel his anxiety starting to come back this chapter. **

**This goes with chapter 21 of Imperfect Pictures!**

**Thanks for reading! **


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty-Three- **

For the first time in ages, I fell asleep and didn't have to set an alarm. It was amazing. And Bella woke me up in the best way. We were both nude, and she kept brushing her ass against me until I was pressed between her already moist thighs. We played sleepily until the teasing was too much and we lazily fucked on our sides. I was barely awake, but it was amazing.

"Make me cum again," Bella begged me as I began to kiss her throat softly after we had finished. I could hear the wanting in her voice.

"How?"

She turned her face to the side to look at me. "I don't care. I just need to feel you."

I had never felt more goddamn wanted in my entire life. I moved my hand over the front of her thighs, just gently caressing them until she spread her legs opened for me. She adjusted so that her leg was over mine, bent back. It made her so opened to me.

"It's so easy to play with you like this," I murmured teasingly in her ear. I moved one finger over her sensitive clit. She had cum before, and I wasn't sure how much she could handle. Bella whimpered quietly, her ass rolling against me. I was spent, wet and sensitive, but it still felt good. Just watching her made me feel good. It was brilliant for my ego. She looked so beautiful, flushed and panting, and she looked that way because of me.

"That feels incredible. You're so good at this," she praised me in a tiny breath as I continued to lightly stroke her wet lips and clit.

My other hand moved over her breast, squeezing her nipple between my fingers. She brought her hand on top of mine and squeezed it as well.

"My love," I gasped sleepily as her wet body ground against mine in just the right way. "My beautiful love."

Her wild hair was everywhere around us, softly pressed against my cheek as I kissed her shoulders, neck, and ears. Bella smelled delicious. Coconut, vanilla, and just the faintest hint of coffee as well as sex. My girlfriend smelled like the perfect morning.

"Ed-" She began to moan my name but squeaked when I tweaked her nipple somewhat hard. Bella let out a breathy giggle. Carefully she smoothed her fingers over my cheek, turning her face so we could kiss. Her ass pressed harder and harder against me, practically begging to be fucked again. I was having so much fun. When I finally slipped a finger inside of her, my palm pressed against her clit. Her mouth opened against mine as she moaned.

And then Bella began to fully ride my hand, both of us working together as I fingered her. When I added another finger she pressed one of her hands on top of mine between her legs, her hips rocking and bucking against my hand in time with my movements. I could feel her wetness grow.

"Mm, Eddie," she hummed as her nose rubbing against my cheek. "Fuck, I love your hands," she whimpered. "They're so big and soft and I- Ohh…" she shuddered as she came on my fingers, but I didn't stop. She whimpered, her fingers holding onto my wrist.

"You what? Keep going, I'm enjoying your flattery," I teased her. "It works for me, too."

She giggled, grabbing my hair and pulling me into a kiss as she rode out her climax with slow swirling hips.

"You know exactly what to do with them," she said against my mouth. "I like how you touch all of me. I'm not sure I've _ever_ felt this good."

"Okay, you don't have to lie," I joked, pushing my fingers deep inside of her with my palm hard against the mound between her legs. She held me there with both of her hands as he hips moved. I could feel the orgasm beginning to twitch in her again. "Oh, fuck," I gasped as my own arousal gripped my stomach. I was fully hard again, and every movement teased me further. "I've never felt like this. I've never wanted anyone more in my life. I love fucking you."

One more became two before pulling away slowly. Bella pushed me onto my back, rolling over finally so she could kiss me. As we did, I massaged myself with my wet hand. I just wanted to relieve some of the tension. She slid her hands over my stomach, watching me hungrily for a long moment. Carefully she moved to her knees beside me and began to kiss down my stomach lovingly. I stroked her hair, just enjoying watching her.

Bella looked so happy to take me into her mouth. She hummed loudly, sending vibrations throughout my whole body. I pushed my hips up a little as I tried to control my breathing.

"Do you really enjoy doing that?"

"Oh, yes," she breathed as she looked up at me, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear before licking me. Her fingers twisted around me, moving slowly. "I love it. It's... " Bella thought about how she wanted to answer me. "It's sort of an act of submission on both of our parts. We both have to trust each other to enjoy it fully." She kept playing with me as she spoke.

"What do you mean?" I said quietly. Bella smiled and sucked on my head for just a moment before bringing her hand up to take advantage of the moisture left behind.

"You could hurt me right now. Grab my head and ram it down my throat. Or do whatever you wanted to. I have to trust you not to. And obviously, you have to trust me not to use teeth." To make a point she very gently brushed her teeth along my head. I shuddered hard.

"Use teeth a little," I said a tiny voice. She moved her mouth down my shaft and dragged her teeth carefully up over my head. "Yeah, like that. I agree with your last statement but lets asterisks that to add _I trust you to use your teeth properly,_" my jackass mouth decided to joke. It had been a while since it had been in control and my brain was gone somewhere as she pleasured me still with her tiny hand.

She pulled up and looked at me, laughing. "Okay, yeah. I like a little teeth, too."

"I know you do, baby," I said with a wildly confident smile, playing with her hair. I was in a great mood.

"I know you do," she purred back at me as she began to suck on me again, stroking as she did. "Last night," she licked down my length then back up the top, "was without a doubt the best experience of my life. Your mouth is incredible."

Slowly I moved my hand over her back and down the curve of her ass.

"I love eating you," I admitted as my fingers smoothed between her legs. She moved so to give me better access, making me smile at her eagerness. "I'm going to do it again after I make you cum while you suck on my cock," I promised, pushing my fingers inside of her from behind.

She slowly and sensually pleasured me with her hand, mouth, tongue, teeth, and lips as I fingered her again. After several minutes I felt the promises of another. I sat up a little and began to work in earnest to push her over the edge. Bella moaned loudly around me, rocking on her knees.

She pulled away and quickly came up to kiss me. I pushed her onto her back so that I could hover over her. We made out for several long delightful moments.

"Edward, I'm not lying," she whispered. "I don't know if I have the words to tell you how much I enjoy being with you. Like this. In every way."

I whimpered at the sensation of her swirling hips so she ground against me some more. My erection was pressed against her wet clit perfectly, and it felt _so_ good. I rocked against her until tiny mewing sounds left her throat. When she came again, gentle and slow, it coated me completely.

I didn't even need to touch her with my hands or be inside of her to get her off.

"You certainly get wet enough for me." I grinned as I moved between her legs. Spreading them wide, I began to press light kisses on her tender flesh. As soon as my tongue touched her, her thighs began to shake. "Do you like what I do to you?"

"Yes." She ran both of her hands through my hair, holding me in place. "Oh, fuck… Yes."

I'm not sure how many times I got her off altogether, but it was amazing. We had sex that went on for literal hours. After our second bought in a row, I fell asleep with her head on my shoulder and her thigh over mine.

After our short nap, we took a lovely shower. We talked about her tattoos for a little while and Bella told me some of their stories. When I asked if she would pick a tattoo out for me, she laughed like I was stupid.

"No. I ain't picking anyone's tattoo out. But, I'll go with you to get another one. I loved it. And, I can hold your hand this time," she promised in her cute thick accent.

"We're going to have to make a list of videos we want to make when you come back. I'm sorry, I'm assuming you'll want to be in them again," I said quickly. I kept just thinking of her in my future by my side, doing everything with me.

"I absolutely want to be in them with you. I think making a list would be a great idea," she smiled up at me as she spoke. Then I remembered a video we needed to make together for sure. I smirked to myself.

"Have you figured what torturous video you're going to put me through for our bet?"

She rolled her eyes and shook her head a little bit. "I was just messing with you."

"I figured, but I still dropped at the end. You must have had something in mind."

She turned her back to me and began to rinse her hands, then she glanced back at me. "I wanted to give a makeup tutorial..."

"Oh! Really? That doesn't seem so bad." That was perfect for Bella. She was so lovely, and her makeup was always on point.

She patted my chest. "On you, sweetie. The makeup would be on you."

"Oh... _Oh_!" I was a dumbass. I should have seen it coming. I had sisters after all. Bella putting it on me was going to be hilarious though. "Dammit, that's a good idea for a video."

She laughed wickedly, smiling to herself.

"All I'd need to do is to get you some foundation and some concealer because we're totally different skin tones."

"The party isn't until six," I muttered, looking up as I thought. "So, if you want to run out and go get that we can get some food and pick that up. If we have time, we can do the video before we go."

"Sure," she said before pulling me down for a nice slow kiss. "It'll get you so many views, I promise."

"Goddammit, probably."

Frankly, getting to spank her and then jerk off on her twice was well worth whatever was about to happen with me. Hell, if she could find a dress big enough... I was not above drag for a laugh as a teenager. I had even shaved my legs more than once and wore stockings. But women's thigh highs came up just over my knees.

After a shopping trip and a quick lunch, we went back to the house. Bella got her supplies while I set up, pulling down the green screen. We sat behind the desk together, the makeup spread out in front of us. I was pouting the whole time.

"You start it."

She smirked prettily. "Okay. You're just annoyed you didn't think of it first."

"I am!" I whined. She was right. It was right in front of me. I had bought her all of that makeup after all. "And now I have so many other stupid ideas with makeup," I complained as I rubbed my hands roughly over my cheeks. "As always, you are an inspiration."

Makeup challenges. Makeup on Seth. Makeup on Tyler. Lauren, Tyler's funny girlfriend, getting a crack at us. She did costume makeup regularly. Me trying to put on my own makeup. All of us idiots basically taking turns doing each other's makeup terribly. Themed challenges. They could all go under my costumes playlist. I could probably milk fifty videos from it if I really tried. Hell, when I visited my sisters I could let them all have a go. Jasper, too. I could just imagine putting lipstick on with that goofy hipster mustache of his.

She giggled, "add it to the list."

"Yeah," I sighed heavily. It was going to be a big list. "I will. Three, two, one..." She kind of rolled her eyes at my attitude, smiling a little bit to herself.

"Hi, my name is Bella Swan, and this is Edward Cullen, and I'm going to give Eddie a whole new look today. And do you want to tell them why, babe?" She looked over at me slowly as her smile turned downright evil. She was just eating this up and having so much fun. It was so infectious, but I wanted to try to keep up our little game.

"Insert me making a bet I couldn't possibly win here," I deadpanned.

"Aw, you could have won. You missed it by that much," she said as she leaned in, putting her fingers very close together. "But, you didn't. So, I'm going to make you purdy, boy."

Damn, she was funny. Her accent was killing me. I pouted my lip out to keep from laughing.

I had no idea how fantastic it was going to feel to have her give me this attention. She just didn't do my makeup. She washed my face and rubbed it with a cold, sweet smelling cream. All I could feel was her fingers.

And then she started using little scissor around my eyes, which I could have done without but she made my eyebrows look amazing. Like normally only makeup artists on sets made them look that good. She promised me she would show me how to do it myself. I doubted I could, but it would be interesting to try.

Every sponge and brush she used on me felt amazing. She was gently painting my face like an artist. When I looked in the mirror, I looked ghostly pale next to her tanned arm.

"I'm so white."

"Don't worry, I'm working on it," she answered distractedly.

"No, I meant just in general," I teased her, earning a little smile.

She giggled softly, "oh. So, I think I'm going to with purple tones for your eyes," she explained. She was going to make me look like Ursula from the Little Mermaid in drag, I just knew it.

"Going to make me look like I've got a black eye, eh?" I joked stupidly.

"I could do that," she confidently. "I've done stage makeup a few times."

"No, make me pretty, darling," I said in a goofy high pitched prissy voice as her eyes looked down into mine.

"Yes, sir," she whispered in return, taking our teasing in a whole new direction that I instantly liked. I bit my lip, having to distract myself from pulling her down into my lap to kiss her. My hands rebelled, going to her hips and waist so that I could at least feel her. She was smiling a little the entire time.

The only part I didn't like was when she actually put big fake eyelashes on me.

"Don't look again until I'm all done," she said to me as she turned the mirror around. It made me more curious than ever.

"Okay," I said, trying not to laugh at how dumb I knew I must have looked, but I couldn't have possibly cared less. I loved being touched by her.

She was so close to me, her breasts in my face as she bent over me. We weren't talking, and all I could hear was her soft breaths. Bella had such gentle little fingers.

"I was not prepared for how intimate this is. I've had makeup done before, but not like this," I admitted to her.

"Are you enjoying it?"

"Very much so. I love how gentle you are with me." I knew I was a big man and could take the roughness, but I didn't always want that. She was so soft sometimes, but I also liked it when she was a little sharp.

"Good. I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. Because you look sexy as fuck. I mean, I'd do you. Don't put that in the video," she said as she turned around and pointed at the camera funnily.

"Maybe," I joked with a smirk. "Maybe not."

She pointed at my nose. "No."

Then she took my chin roughly in her hand and pushed my lips open with her tiny thumb. It was so sudden and unexpected. And incredibly arousing. She leaned forward while still holding me in place and kissed me just once. Her intense eyes were focused on mine the entire time.

Bella carefully and slowly ran the lipstick over my mouth. She was so goddamn sexy when she was in control. God, I wanted her.

"I'm going to be honest with you, I'm kind of mad at how much prettier in makeup you look compared to me," she said very seriously, interrupting my thoughts.

"Oh, do shut up. You are so full of piss. I probably look like a Disney villain. Genderswap Ursula," I replied.

"Hardly." She handed me the mirror. "Here you go."

_Oh, shit. This is unexpected._

"Whoa, I thought I was going to be more drag queen at a clown convention. I look legit. What the fuck?" I brought the mirror closer to my face to look at the work she had done. "I am fierce."

For all of Bella's seriousness, she finally lost it and dissolved into laughter. I raised my eyebrow at her.

"I love it so much," she gasped out.

"I look like the butch sister got her makeover," I joked though it was completely true. I looked like Tanya on steroids. "Give the outro." I looked at myself again in the mirror.

"Okay, Narcissus," she joked playfully. I stuck my tongue out at her. She giggled and turned to the camera. "If you enjoyed this video and want to see Eddie continue to get more in touch with his not so inner diva, please do all the buttons, bells, and whistles! Bye!"

I stupidly blew a kiss to the camera. Jasper was going to love this video so much. He was going to laugh his ass off.

I couldn't resist her a moment longer and pulled her onto my lap so that I could tickle her. When I was done, I began to take pictures with her so I could send them to literally everyone. I looked great, and I wanted to show off my talented girlfriend who did it.

"Thank you. That will be a fun video to edit."

"I'm sure it will be," she said with a happy smile.

"I have to get ready now," she said as she kissed my neck so as not to mess up my makeup. I caught a picture of her just as her lips puckered up right below my ear, her eyes closed with me smiling in my fantastic makeup.

I first sent several pictures to Jasper, of course, and then my sisters in group chat. I also sent some to my grandparents who enjoyed my dumbness.

"_Well, hello there, my foxy darling. Is there something you need to tell me_?" Jasper sent back.

_"I made a dumb bet with Bella and lost, and this was what I had to do… for a video._"

"_She put makeup on you for a video? DO I GET TO SEE IT?!_"

"_Yes, of course, you get to see it._"

"_Hahaha, that's amazing. But seriously though, she did great! You are sexy af, my friend_."

"_RIGHT?! I look hot._" I sent him a gif of a chubby toddler modeling a gaudy dress in the mirror.

"Jasper says I'm sexy as fuck," I said with a laugh to Bella as she straightened her hair by the vanity. She smirked a little bit to herself, her eyes glancing up to mine in the mirror.

"Well, he's not wrong. Let me know when you wanna take it off, and I'll help you."

I was going to tell her I was half tempted to go just like that to the party, even if I didn't have a costume to go with the look, but my phone began to ring in my hand. It was my grandmother.

"Hello, Nana!" I said happily.

"Well, hello there, my very pretty darling," my grandmother cooed at me playfully. "I do hope that is for a costume. If not, I must say it's a very bold color for the daytime." My grandmother was an amusing and charming woman.

"No, not for Halloween. It was for a video. I lost a bet," I explained to her cheerfully. I was even happier I lost that stupid bet now. _Best. Loss. Ever. _

"Oh, I see! Whoever did it did a wonderful job. It's perfect," she praised. "You look just like Tanya with a much sharper chin and short hair."

"Yes, she did very well. I think I look like a manly Tanya, too."

"Who is she?" She asked instantly.

"Oh, her name is Bella."

"Have I seen her before?"

"She was on the video with me at the jump," I said quickly.

"Oh! The photographer! Does she work for you?" Nana asked with interest. I chuckled to myself.

"No, she's doesn't work for me. She's my girlfriend actually."

"Anthony, darling! That's so lovely! How very sweet! And she's a photographer?"

"Yes, and a photographer, too. Amazingly, she can do both at the same time," I joked with her.

"Well," she laughed. "You of all people should understand my surprise, darling. You are a handful. Always have been! How does she have the time?"

I laughed again. "Yes, I do realize handling me is a full-time job."

"It is! Oh, I miss you so much, my lovely darling. Can we talk using the video? I want to see your face."

"Okay… Hold on a sec." I pulled my cell away from my face. "My Nana would like to Facetime," I explained to her. I didn't want to surprise Bella with my grandmother's face.

"Go for it," she replied as she dusted her eyes with red.

"There you are!" I said when my Nana popped up on the screen. I beamed at her.

"Oh, look at you!" She laughed. "Let me see your eyes. Close them. My, look at that!"

"I've never felt so sexy," I joked, and I heard Bella giggle from her seat.

"What time is it there, dear? Are you doing anything for the holiday?" Nana questioned curiously.

"It's almost five. We're going to a party at my mate's house. They're doing a potluck and passing out candy to the kiddies," I explained happily. I loved talking to her.

"Is your girlfriend there?" She asked with a hopeful face. I knew It was coming. So, I lowered the phone to include Bella's in the frame. She already looked incredible in her own makeup.

"Hello," she said in a bright voice, her accent thick. "Nice to meet you. I'm putting on costume makeup right now. I normally look more... _normal_," she explained.

"Are you going to be a devil?" Nana asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Bella nodded. She had simply looked through Target until she got an idea. She had liked the dress so she would wear it again later. She simply bought the horns to go with it. "In a blue dress."

"It's lovely, dear! So bold and excitingly colored. What's your name again?" Nana asked as she leaned way too far into the shot so that all we could see was her big green eyes. Green eyes ran in both sides of the family.

"Bella Swan, ma'am."

"Too close, Nana," I finally told her when she never backed up. She was still trying to get a good look at my new girlfriend. She was going to tell my grandfather everything, and then call my sisters to find out what they knew about her. And then probably call my other grandmother to talk about it too. _Everyone_ was going to know now. And I was okay with that.

"I'm Elizabeth Everson, Edward's maternal grandmother. How long have you two been together?" She asked right away.

"Just mid-October, Nana. Let's let her finish," I said as I pulled the phone away. She could torture me with questions later. I decided to distract her. "How's Grandpa George?" I asked as I went into the bedroom to have a seat on the bed.

"As wicked as ever. You know him."

"Of course. I miss him. How's Ireland? Having fun on the Emerald Isle?"

"I love it here! You'd love it too. I do hope you'll come to visit soon. You can bring your new girlfriend along. She's very lovely," she whispered.

"She's not in here to hear you, Nana," I said jokingly. "But she's beyond lovely. Maybe one day. No promises. I do hope she comes along for a visit, too. You'll just love her."

"I'm sure, darling."

Bella came out of the bathroom with a big grin, her makeup amazingly fiercely red. The dress was tiny, clinging to her curvy body. Her red heels made her legs look amazing.

"Look! I didn't realize it did it," she said with great pleasure as she ran a hand over her stomach. As she did it left a bloody trail of shiny red sequins.

"How perfect!" I laughed and showed my grandmother. Bella grinned as she showed off then quickly smoothed the sequins back into place. "Ten out of ten. Perfect costume, love."

"Very good, dear," Nana said happily. She really did like it. I could tell by her voice. I smiled to myself.

"Okay, Nana, she has to take my face off so I can put my costume on. I'll talk to you later. I love you. Tell Grandpa George hello," I told her when I realized the time.

"I love you, too, my angel. Have a good time. Be careful," Nana said softly before the call ended. I felt lighter talking to her. She was always around when I was a child, and I missed her. Both of my grandmothers were very good to me. We spent a month with each of them and then they would spend at least a month with us every year growing up.

Bella removed my makeup, scrubbing my skin clean and removing the obnoxious eyelashes. I loved it when she touched me. It was so soothing, the few minutes of quiet. When she was done, I went to my closet to get changed into my own costume.

I had been thinking about what I wanted to wear to the party since Tyler had asked us. I loved costumes and had a whole closet full of them. I could have been something stupid or funny, but I decided I wanted to actually look good for Bella. She was wearing a sexy little cocktail dress after all. So, I decided to go as the classic James Bond.

"I'm almost ready," I informed Bella when I came back into the bedroom where she was putting things into her tiny little purse beside her camera bag. She turned around to look at me, and her eyes got wide as her lips parted slightly. Her eyes raked over me hotly, settling finally on my face.

My little girlfriend was checking me out _hard_, and she thought I looked _**good**_. I thought my ego was going to pop right then and there.

"Mm… I'm-" she drew out, blinking several times before smiling in embarrassment, "Me too. I'm ready."

I had actually made her flushed and flustered. _Holy shit. _

I cleared my throat, considering just bending her over the bed despite the hours of fucking not long before. "So, I don't suppose you'd be willing to fill in my eyebrows again? Maybe give me some Sean Connery brows?"

She laughed, "yeah. Sure. Go sit by the mirror so I can actually reach them."

When I turned, I could actually feel her eyes on my ass.

_Pop. _

I sat at the chair by the vanity and Bella came to stand in front of me. Whenever she would stop what she was doing and catch my gaze, I would make a face to make her giggle. I kept leaning forward to kiss her stomach, enjoying the sensation of just being so close to her. Every moment of the day so far had been beyond perfect. I don't think I could have been any happier.

**This goes with chapter 22 of Imperfect Pictures! **

**If you're enjoying this story still, let me know! The motivation helps so much! **

**See you next week :) **

**Thanks for reading! **


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty-four- **

I couldn't keep my hands off of Bella. I didn't want to, honestly. As soon as I realized the possibilities of drawing on her perfect body, my mind went straight into the gutter. She giggled at my touching, curling into me and whispering in my ear about how ticklish I was making her. It just turned me on for some reason. Finally, she begged me to stop for the sake of her makeup, fat tears welling in the corner of her eyes.

"I wanna write on your bum," I muttered like a randy teenager. "Mine. Or, maybe Eddie. I might be able to fit Edward's on there if I try."

"Later." She looked back at me and winked playfully.

Tyler, aka Indiana Kinda Jones, was standing outside of his bungalow by a barbeque. He was utterly surrounded by Halloween decorations. I knew he loved conspiracy stuff, but I didn't realize he was so into the holiday. He was standing beside his brother, Seth, and a person I didn't know.

"Oh, my god! Chip and Dale! I loved you as a kid!" Bella said in a giggle as we walked up to them. I hadn't realized, but as soon as she said it, I saw it too.

Seth, who was wearing a terrible Magnum P.I costume looked so annoyed.

I laughed, "shit, you're right!"

"We didn't know!" Seth whined loudly.

"No, it's good. Really. I think it's great," Bella said with a little smirk on her lips. She lifted the bags of food she had cooked for the party. We had also stopped to get a big case of beer. "Where do you want the food?"

He passed his tongs to the man that looked just like him. "Oh, this way. This is my brother, Andy, by the way. And my friend Raj. This is my quote-unquote boss, Eddie, and his girl, Bella," he introduced us to his friend who was dressed as a vampire. I smirked.

"_Quote, unquote_. I mean, I do tell you what to do. Kind of. Sort of. Nice to meet you, Raj. Nice to see you again, Andy." I shook their hands, smiling politely.

"Hi," Bella said as she curled her fingers up in a wave.

Tyler looked back at Bella as we started towards the door and asked, "did you bring your camera?"

"I did if that's okay."

"No, it's awesome. I was hoping you would. Would you send me the pictures?" He asked as he led us through the house to the kitchen. I had been to his house a few times before. Even the insides were stuffed with decoration.

"Absolutely," my girlfriend answered pleasantly.

"I would have never guessed you were this into Halloween," I mumbled in surprise.

"It's me and my girlfriend's favorite. Lauren, where do you want this?" Tyler asked his longtime girlfriend who was dressed up as Moaning Myrtle from Harry Potter. It was pretty spot on too. I was impressed.

"What is it?" She asked. "Hi, Eddie. Nice to see you again."

"Hi, Lauren. Nice to see you, too. I have some beer, too!" I lifted up the case to show her.

"Wow, great! There is an extra fridge in the garage. Tyler, go show him. Put it in there so it can get cold," she directed him.

"I have some garlic hummus and pita bread to dip, veggies too. And rice crispy squares," Bella said, bringing her the bags.

I followed Tyler to the garage, trailing behind him silently.

"How are you?" He asked quietly. I could still hear our girlfriends chatting as we went inside the dark space.

"Great. Really, really, great," I grinned at him. He had to rearrange a little, so I waited patiently with the beer. "You?"

"Good. Excited. Bella looks…" he trailed off, raising his eyebrows. "Wow."

"Yeah, I know," I grinned. "She is… _Jesus_. There are no words to describe how good she looks right now. Here, pass me one of those Reds. She likes those."

Once we were done, we headed back towards the kitchen.

"You just need a Monterrey Jack," Bella said to Lauren.

"See! She thinks we need to have a baby, too!" She spouted in her boyfriend's face.

"She did not. We can hear you in there, you know. Having a child for the sake of a costume is not a good reason anyway. Don't drag her into your insanity," he mumbled in annoyance.

Bella grinned wickedly. "You know what. I like her. For the sake of causing drama... Yeah, you should totally have a baby," she said in a laugh as she rubbed her hands together. Then she made her eyes wide. "Wait, what if you have Shia Labeouf? Your last movie was terrible, Indy."

I pushed my lips as hard together as I could so not to laugh directly at him, looking away from his flustered face.

"Oh, Jesus," Tyler mumbled before basically running away. Both women cackled. My girl was getting into her role for the night as a little devil.

Bella looked confused as I gave her the drink I bought for her. She leaned into me, looking at Lauren as I put an arm around her. "Wait, are you two married?"

Lauren sighed, pouting a little bit. "Practically. But no, but we've been together for seven years. I don't care about getting married. I just want to have kids. We've been talking about it for a month or so now. My sister just had a baby and..."

My girlfriend nodded empathetically. "I get it. Babies are babies. That clock is _mean_ and loud. Especially when they're all cute and small and someone else's."

"Exactly," she said with a little nod and a frown.

"Do you want children?" I asked before I realized what my mouth was doing. I realized as soon as I did what a bad idea it was and how this conversation should have been private, but I was going to pretend I wasn't freaking out inside. Bella didn't look phased at all.

"I don't _not_ want children?" She shrugged. "I'm probably not going to have kids at this point though if we're being honest. Not of my own, at least."

I wanted kids, I had to admit it. I loved my nieces. I loved being around them and watching grow into amazing little people. The idea of having children with Bella was fascinating to me. I couldn't even begin to fathom what they would look like. I couldn't see a reason to stop us if we were both healthy.

But, I was definitely putting the cart before the horse with that.

"Why?" Lauren asked the question I was too caught up in my own thoughts to ask.

"I just turned thirty-three. I haven't been in a relationship in years... well, until Eddie just very recently, I mean. If I were to have children, I'd like to be married to the father or have a partner to make it easier. It takes years to get a relationship to that point. I don't know." She shook her head bashfully. "I work at a non-profit where we help disadvantaged youth, so I've considered adopting older kids. You know, teens rarely find families. I kind of figured my roommate and I would probably hit our forties as old spinsters together at this rate. We've talked about fostering teens together but she works all the time, and my money isn't stable enough yet," she finished and then took a long drink of her cider almost nervously.

I was okay with adoption. Her answer made me love her all the more. What a great thing to do. We could do that together. Who the fuck cared about genetics? I just wanted to raise a family with her.

Lauren set her sights on me as she picked up a Rice Crispy Treat Bella made for the party. She smirked a little before asking, "do you want kids, Eddie?"

"Well, I _adore _children, but I've not quite gotten that far in life. I love all my nieces, though. Babies are fun. Toddlers are too if you can give them back after you wind them up. That's the best," I said honestly.

"You're the fun uncle," she replied cheerfully.

I grinned widely. "Damn straight." I was thebest uncle. Full stop.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Bella asked quickly, pushing off the counter a little bit.

"No, I think I got this. If you want, you can go keep the boys company. More people should be getting here within the hour," she said, glancing between us.

Bella and I made it back through the house out to the yard that was now starting to fill with people. Tyler looked so annoyed with us. He snapped the tongs at Bella.

"Stop encouraging her!"

"You've been together for seven years. She doesn't need encouragement," I defended her.

My girlfriend turned to me, her face red with her devil makeup. "He's going to give her babies." And then she drew a perfect heart on her stomach. "Aw, Daddy."

The immature side of me wanted to high five her for making him so flustered because it was so funny.

"That's the scariest thing I've heard all day," he complained. "Oh, _look_, trick or treaters." Tyler took the bowl of candy and pushed it at Bella. "Go give out candy."

I chuckled the entire time we walked to the sofa.

I had never passed out Halloween candy before, but it was so much fun. Every kid was excited about it, even if they were shy. Some kids knew me, and I was more than happy to take pictures with them. The joy was so pure. And Bella loved every minute of it.

A small boy, barely not a toddler who was dressed as a pirate, came up to us with his half-filled bag already out but he was looking off towards the grill as his mother led him to us.

"Happy Halloween. Want some Skittles or M&Ms?" Bella said in a voice I realized she used for children. It was charming.

"Can I have a hot dog?" The kid asked with wide side eyes and a pouting lip. He got his way a lot, I could tell.

The mother flushed and quickly shook her head. "Chase, no, honey. You can't."

"Mom, I don't blame him. They smell so good!" Bella replied kindly. "You hungry, baby?"

"Yeah!" He grinned up at her.

"Okay, first, pick out some candy for later." She gave him his choice from the bucket. "Now, I can't make any promises, but let me go talk to the person in charge real quick."

"Oh, um, thank you," the mother said in surprise as Bella stood and walked over to Tyler. "That's really nice of you."

"You should see how much food is in there," I chuckled reassuringly. We were probably doing them a favor. There was going to be so many leftovers. "Hey, what's your name, buddy?"

"Chase!" He shouted in return. I laughed at his excitement.

"Chase?! Do you run a lot?" I asked him jokingly.

"Yes," his mum mumbled under his breath, making me chuckle again.

"Guess what I have?" The boy asked me. He didn't wait for an answer. "I've got a sword!"

"What?!" I beamed. "Yeah! That's cool. I've got a weapon too," I whispered and pulled the water gun out of my jacket pocket.

"Oo! Can I see?" He asked.

"Go for it," I gave it to him and winked. "Just don't spray your mum, yeah?"

"Okay," he said with a grin.

Tyler shouted from beside the grill, "Happy Halloween!" He smiled and waved cheerfully, pulling my attention from the child for a second.

Bella walked back over to us, her hips swaying. "Okay. So, you want a hot dog?"

"Yeah!" He yelled.

My smart girlfriend knew she needed more information than that, even if the boy was now getting distracted by my gun. "Do you want it on a bun?"

"Yes, please!"

"Do you want anything on it?" She asked his mother.

"He likes ketchup."

Bella leaned down to ask him, "do you like chips?" Then she looked at his mother. "Does he have any allergies?"

She quickly shook her head. "No, he doesn't."

Chase was standing very close to me, making quiet shooting sounds with his guns before suddenly shouting, "I love chips!"

It wasn't the first time I had a kid scream in my ear. But it had been a few months. I shook my head with a little laugh.

We all watched as my girl walked into the house. "I like her dress," the boy said to his mother in a soft sort of whisper. I understood it completely.

"Me too," I agreed with a grin. "You have good tastes, young man."

His mother laughed, "is that your girlfriend?"

"Yeah, ma'am," I smiled maybe a little too proudly.

"Do you get to kiss her?" The boy asked loudly, making me laugh in surprise. The mom flushed a bright red.

"I'm sorry-"

"No," I laughed. "It's okay. Yeah, I totally get to kiss her but only because she lets me. Remember, you have to ask before you hug or kiss someone. Very important," I told him teasingly. My sisters were always trying to teach my nieces not to climb all over everyone. They wanted to hug and kiss _everyone._

He nodded very seriously. "I don't like hugs. I wish people would ask me." His mother rubbed her forehead and shook her head as she rolled her eyes. I pushed my lips together to keep from chuckling at his attitude.

"So, how about this, Chase? Since we sent that very helpful and lovely devil off to fetch your food, I need help passing out candy. Will you help me?"

"Sure!" He bounced in place. I patted the spot beside me, and he sat with a hop.

"You're good with kids," his mother complimented me quietly.

"Thanks." I couldn't help but smile. Once again I thought what it would be like to have these kinds of moments with my own kids. Maybe my kids with Bella.

It was so much fun to watch Chase though. He was a happy and funny kid.

Bella came back with a plate fit for any child. It was piled with great snacks, and she even brought him a soda even though she forgot to ask about a drink.

"Look at that! Look, Chase! What do you say?" His mother beamed at my girlfriend.

"Thank you!" The little boy smiled at her when she put his plate on his lap.

"You're welcome. Let's see, a hot dog with ketchup, chips, and pretzels. Some carrots and hummus. Then we have a fruit kabob, a rice crispy treat, and a couple of cookies," she explained.

His mother laughed, "I don't have to feed you dinner tonight! Thanks, that's so nice."

Bella passed her the cold canned drink. "Well, it's easy when it's not your food."

We stayed in the spot, passing out candy and talking to the little boy until he ate every bite of the food on the plate that Bella had so kindly made him. He was so cute. He passed my water gun back to me when it was time to leave, a sad little pout on his lips. I put it in his bucket and winked at him. His smile was worth it. It was a cheap toy anyway.

When we watched them walk away, Bella began to rub her hands over her arms.

"Do you want to go inside for a little while?"

I took my coat off and put it around her. "Sure."

Bella went around and took pictures for a while for Tyler. Every once in a while I would take the camera from her and take her photo, or take one with us together. We had more drinks and finally got some food to share. She sat on my lap since there was no place for her to sit, not that I minded. I kept stealing kisses, feeding her treats all night. Even while we played Cards against Humanity and spoke to Lauren's too drunk friends.

When it got later, it got down to just a few people. Lauren and Tyler were loudly singing karaoke together. They loved to do it, and they knew they were terrible. That was part of the charm though. I watched them with a grin. Bella was in my lap still, her foot going with the music as she lounged against me.

"I'll take a picture of you two if you want," Seth said, looking over at us with a smile.

Bella nodded and gave him her camera so she could quickly lean into me. We took so many funny pictures, making each other laugh. Finally, we took a few serious ones.

Bella laughed a little when she saw them, "thanks."

Lauren leaned over to look at us, her eyes narrowing on us. She was very drunk herself. "Are you going to sing? Eddie?"

I smirked slightly. "I can't carry a tune in a bucket. It'll be painful."

She frowned at me, not thrilled with my answer. "It's just for fun!"

My girlfriend shrugged slightly, smiling. "I'll do a song."

Tyler's girlfriend wildly high fived her and then pointed at her dramatically. "Yes, you will. See! You do it, too!" She pointed her wobbly finger at me.

I snorted, "okay, okay. Let me figure out a song first."

She clapped her hands together. "Yay!"

Then Lauren very loudly belched.

Tyler looked over, making a slightly disgusted face. "These are the classy parties you can expect running in this circle," he teased his girlfriend. She flipped him the bird. He blew her a dramatic and silly kiss. "Love you, muffin."

I wasn't sure what I was going to pick until I saw _Sunglasses at Night_. It was playing in the diner the first full day together. It was perfect.

I went first, drunk and feeling very loose. Bella was watching me with her lip between her teeth and her nose scrunched up. Seth ran into the middle of the performance to help me, lending me his sunglasses as he did. It was so much fun.

Bella went right after me. She put her horns on me, taking the microphone away from me after a little kiss.

She didn't look at the screen for the words as the song began. I knew the song right away. It was a No doubt song.

"Take this pink ribbon off my eyes…"

Her voice was _incredible._ Like shockingly so. She blew everyone that had sung before her out of the water. She danced along to the song, singing along perfectly to Gwen Stefani. She smiled, bouncing around as Lauren decided to sing with her.

When they were done they both bowed. I clapped wildly for her.

She brought the microphone to her mouth and practically sang, "I'd like to thank my useless music degree for giving me the ability to do karaoke okay at parties," and then she did a little curtsey.

_Ohhhhhh… That's what her useless degree is_, my drunk brain thought. I had never gotten around to asking. I could definitely see Bella as a singer. I tried to store that information away for later, but I was not sober enough for that.

We stayed a little while longer, singing and drinking more. We finally dragged ourselves home by four in the morning. It was all kind of a blur to me. Bella walked in ahead of me with her shoes in her hand while wearing my tuxedo jacket. It fell past her knees.

She put her bag down in the foyer and glanced back at me and smiled slightly. She was so pretty, the outside light shining in her beautiful mismatched eyes. I couldn't resist Bella for even a moment longer. I tugged her into my arms, kissing her desperately. The jacket went to the ground as her arms encircled my neck, clinging to me.

"Take me to bed," she asked me in a breathless whisper as she gazed up into my eyes. Wordlessly, I easily picked her up. Her arms tightened around my neck. I could smell the mix of perfume and liquor on her skin as she lazily spread kisses on my jaw.

I laid her in the middle of my bed, kissing her as I did. Slowly I dragged my fingers down her dress to make a path of red from her breasts to her thighs. She was obviously drunk too, her head falling back against the bed as she giggled. I straddled her waist then fixed the sequins until they were all correct again. Then I began to draw hearts on her stomach.

"That tickles," she giggled.

"I know," I laughed wickedly as she squirmed underneath me. "But, I think you like it," I replied as I drew one right over her nipple. I wiggled my eyebrows at her.

"You've been wanting to do that all night, haven't you?" She asked me teasingly.

"Oh, god, you have no idea," I laughed, drawing one on the other. "In fact, roll over."

She did with another giggle, me still straddling her thighs. She wiggled her ass at me, looking back over her shoulder at me.

"What are you going to write?"

"I don't know. Hm..." I drew my name across her ass. "Oh yes, very nice. I like that." She laughed again, pushing her face into the mattress. "Can I write _mine_?"

"You can do whatever you want." She wiggled again.

I smoothed over the sequins and wrote _mine_ neatly across it. "Is it mine, love?"

"Oh, yes. All of me is yours," Bella said in a seductive voice, looking over shoulder at me again.

"Is that so?" I leaned down to kiss her bare shoulder where the camera tattoo was. She nodded her head just a little. I kissed the back of her neck slowly, letting my nose drag over it for a minute. I sat back and drew a heart on her ass before groping it hard. She shimmied it back at me and I gave it a good swat, earning a moan.

"If you left the dress on you could use it to keep a tally of every time you get me off," she joked, folding her arms so she could lay on them, still on her stomach. I laughed loudly.

I unzipped the dress quickly, exposing her back. "But, then I couldn't see your tits."

Ungracefully I removed her dress and tossed it to the side while she still laid on her stomach. With one hand I popped open her bra and felt way too proud that I was able to do it. I had mastered the skill with Vicky. I spread kisses down her back, smoothing my hands over her sides as I did. Her panties rolled down her ass to her thighs along the way.

I dragged my teeth over one of her cheeks, moving down her thighs before I pushed her legs apart. Shifting down, I brought her up to her knees before I began to lick and kiss between her legs.

"Damn," she sighed into the mattress. "Oh, god…" My actions became more desperate, adding my fingers until she was squirming underneath. Her orgasm only took a couple of fun minutes.

I was too drunk and horny for too much foreplay. I slapped her ass again, earning a giggle as I stumbled to get a condom. Throwing my shirt off, I hurried to strip so I could put it on. Bella was on her knees on the bed, sitting back as she watched me. When I got it on she brought me into a kiss before shoving me down onto the bed so she could straddle my waist.

She threw her head back as she slid down onto me. Her fingers dragged over my chest, biting her bottom lip as she rocked on top of me. I sat up, my hands on her back to bring her into a kiss.

"My sexy little devil," I mumbled in her ear before nibbling on it lightly.

"You're the one wearing the horns, baby," she teased.

I flipped us over, pushing more roughly into her. She moaned loudly, her head falling back in the pillows with her eyes rolled into the back of her head. "And they look good on me too," I said jokingly, adjusting the angle so that I hit just the right spot inside of her.

Her legs stiffened around my waist, "EDWARD!" She practically shrieked as she came, taking me with her.

We laid there for a moment, panting and sweaty. She smiled up at me as she brushed her fingers through my hair with a giggle.

"Yeah, they do look pretty cute on you," she agreed as she leaned up and pecked my lips, her fingers playing with the hair at the back of my neck. "You are covered in glitter."

"So are you," I chuckled, kissing her forehead.

"Here, get up." She patted my arm before she pranced off to the bathroom.

Quickly we both cleaned up. When we both got into bed, just before five, the sky was still dark. Bella happily curled up with her head on my chest, holding my hand. She pressed a kiss to my jaw as she pulled the horns from my head and tossed them onto the nightstand beside my phone.

**This goes with chapter 23 of Imperfect Pictures. **

**So, this week I'm finishing up a repost (The List! Check it out! It's got an English Edward) and it's also the last week of school for my kids so I've decided to take next week off from posting to work on stuff and hang out with my kids. **

**Chapter 25 will be posted on May 28th! **

**Thanks for reading! **


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty-five-**

I was stupid hungover when I woke up. Most of the last part of the evening before was kind of a blur, but I knew one thing for sure.

It was Bella's last day in Los Angeles. It was her final day with me.

I felt on the verge of tears just waking up. There was nothing I could do but stare up at the ceiling sadly. Bella shifted so that she was laying her head on my chest. She was quiet too. My arms tightened around her.

"It can't be over," I blurted out.

"It's not forever," she whispered.

"It's just been so perfect. I don't want it to end." I let my hand fall down her back as I held her. "It's been like a dream, and I don't want to wake up. Or, maybe I actually died during that stupid jump, and this is my idea of heaven. I'm not sure."

Bella rolled over some to look at me with a sweet little smirk. "You are such a romantic soul. It's just a couple of weeks, really. You'll barely have time to think of me anyway. I've seen your schedule for the next month."

I wasn't sure how she could think that.

"I couldn't _not_ think of you if I tried," I mumbled as I pushed her hair behind her ear.

"When you're in New York we can plan my next visit and figure out what videos you want to make when I'm here," she said lightly, hopefully. "What do you want to do for your birthday? We'll do whatever you want."

"I don't know. I'll be happy as long as I'm with you. I don't know if I want to do anything at all, honestly. Stay in bed and order food," I answered as I took her cheek into my palm and gently traced the curve with my thumb. She smiled at me.

"Oh, that sounds nice. Can we do that today as well?" She tangled her legs with mine, her hip pressing against me.

"Yes, please," I answered with a kiss.

We needed a shower horribly but we were too hungry and hungover for that, so we decided to have breakfast first. Bella put on my hoodie, and it looked like a dress on her. I made us coffee while we waited for our late lunch to go with our joints by the pool. Bella laid across me comfortably.

The weather was perfect, not too hot or cold. It was just the slightest bit windy. In my head, I prayed for rain. I begged for storms that I knew weren't coming.

Bella kept her big sunglasses on even when we came inside to eat, her temple leaning against her fist as she nibbled on a turkey club with runny egg and chips.

"This is why I stopped seriously partying at your age," she mumbled under her breath.

"Painkillers?" I offered. "I have aspirin and some high powered ibuprofen from the dentist I have left over from some work I had done a few months ago."

"Mm, high powered," she answered. "I hate the dentist. What did you have done?"

"I cracked a molar," I told her as I fetched her one of the tablets. I took one as well.

"Ow."

"I didn't feel a thing." I shrugged. "Did it on camera too. At least it was a back tooth. Why do you hate the dentist?"

"The accident knocked a lot of my teeth loose, and they put silver caps on them to keep them from coming out too soon. Half my mouth was silver for ages. Then braces, retrainer. All that good stuff," she explained to me. I nodded my head. I could see why she would hate that.

I decided to change the subject. "What would you like to do after this?" I offered. "It's up to you. We have all day."

She licked her lips as she thought. "I'm too hungover for anything honestly."

"Thank god, because so am I," I replied, making her snort but smile.

"Do you just want to… cuddle for a while?" She offered.

"Just want to go back to bed?" I asked. She nodded her head. "Yeah, let's go cuddle and wait for the medicine to kick in. That sounds like a good idea."

We laid there for a good long hour in silence with her still in my hoodie and me in just my basketball shorts. Her fingers curled around my hands, and she held them to her lips, occasionally kissing them.

My thoughts were all over, but they were mostly in a very dark place. I was so scared. I wasn't sure how I was going to handle the next day. I didn't want to be away from Bella for even a day to go to work. Weeks sounded terrible. I tried to remind myself that I would see her again soon, but it wasn't enough.

And what if something happened and it was the last night I saw her? What if she came to her senses and realized what a wreck I actually was? Would this be the last night we spent together? Would I only be allowed this tiny bit of happiness? I felt like I just got a taste and it was being ripped away from me.

"What are you thinking?" She asked softly. I shook my head, kissing her cheek. She rolled over to look at me. "You have glitter in your hair," she giggled.

"You're pretty sparkly yourself there, princess," I chuckled, rubbing away a piece of red glitter off of her forehead.

She smiled, slowly leaning in to kiss my lips lightly before pressing her face into my neck.

"I don't think you know how much I needed this," she breathed out. "How much I needed you."

"Oh, did you need me?"

"Mmhmm. I needed something bright and cheerful in my life, and you're honestly just-" she stopped and sighed, kissing my neck. "You make me feel so nice."

"I don't know if I have the ability to describe how you make me feel, Isabella." She smiled at my use of her full name. "Thank you for just dropping your life and staying with me. I realize that's not an easy thing."

"Mm, it was pretty easy," she replied as she scrunched up her nose.

"I don't want you to leave," I admitted to her.

"I don't want to either. I really don't. I love it here with you."

"Do you really?" She nodded. I smiled a little to myself. "So, um… I was thinking. I really should hire a photographer for the channel and-"

Bella giggled, pressing herself closer to me. I hugged her tighter to me, pulling her onto my chest as I laid flat on my back. "When I'm here, I'll be your photographer."

"You're my photographer no matter where you are," I answered her.

"Sweet man," she breathed against my neck.

"Mm, it's the truth," I mumbled as I rubbed a hand down her back and pushed it underneath the hoodie so I could move my fingers up her bare skin. "How are you feeling?"

"Better."

I rolled us over again so this time I was hovering above her. She was looking up into my eyes, biting her bottom lip as she did so. Carefully she traced her fingers over my jaw and pulled me in a lingering kiss. She moaned against my mouth, her legs drawing up around my hips so that it pushed the hoodie over her own hips to expose her panties.

"I want you," I said as I kissed her lips over and over again. "I need you," I begged.

"I'm yours," she promised. "I'm yours, Edward. Kiss me. Kiss me, please."

We made love for a long time. I don't think I had ever experienced anything like it before. I had never felt so connected to someone. Touching her was bliss, being inside of her was heaven. Her kisses gave me so much pleasure. I hoped she felt that way as well.

Afterward, we showered, and I watched her pack like a sulking child. I tried to be better at dinner and then breakfast, but it was so hard. As we sat outside the airport, it felt as if my chest was starting to very slowly crumble into itself. I tried to just keep babbling, letting my mouth say whatever it wanted. It didn't matter what I said, Bella wouldn't be there in the afternoon to greet me with a kiss when I was done with work.

Rain lightly fell on the windshield, teasing me. _Storms? Ha!_ Obviously, my prayers were not strong enough.

She kept checking the time on her phone. One final time she sighed. "I need to go inside."

For all my words, I had none. I was going to cry. I was barely holding it together.

Holding her face in my hands, I kissed her. She brought her hands up to mine, pressing them harder to her cheeks. When I finally ended it, she kissed my palm. Her nose nuzzled it for a moment.

_I need her so badly._ I wasn't sure how I was going to handle the next few days.

"Take me with you," I blurted out, making her laugh. I felt myself beginning to lose it. Sucking in a deep breath through my nose, the tears started to gather at my eyes.

"You won't fit in my luggage, sadly."

"I'm going to miss you terribly."

"I'll miss you, too. We'll text. We'll call. There is always Facetime and Skype. And in no time you will be strolling through Central Park and skating at Rockefeller center with me," she said lightly, but I could see the strain on her own face.

I was being a selfish asshole. I needed to try for her. This was hard on her too.

But… she really did want to be there with me, and that made me so happy.

"Maybe we can go to a Broadway show together, too."

"Anything you want. And after the charity show, I'll have almost a full week off with you. We can do whatever you want," she promised.

"What if I just want to spend it in your arms?"

Her lips actually quivered, her breath ragged in her throat as she tried to breath. "Stop making it so hard to leave."

_Just don't leave. Please. Please don't leave me. I love you,_ I wanted to shout at her. _I need you._

"Never," I forced a smile as kissed her again.

I stayed in the airport lobby until I watched her curly black hair disappeared, turning a corner after security. Numbly, I walked back to the car. I flopped down into the seat, my fingers automatically gripping the steering wheel. Looking at the clock, I realized there was still two hours before I needed to be at the photoshoot.

Pressing my forehead to the steering wheel, I began to weep.

Jasper's ringtone began to sing too cheerfully about ten minutes into my little tantrum.

"Hey there, darling," he said slowly, gently. "How are you?"

"I just made a huge mistake. Why did I let her leave? I feel like I just watched the best thing that's ever happened to me slip through my fingers. And I just her go!"

"She couldn't stay. You knew that."

"I know! Logically, of course. I know."

"It's not forever."

"What if it is?" I all but whimpered. "What if that's all I'm going to get? You don't understand! I love her. I legitimately love her. I want her. I want her to be my wife, and I want to spend the rest of my life giving her fucking everything she could ever dream of! I could do it! I have never met a better person in my life. She makes me feel so confident and happy. If she asked for a hundred mansions, she'd deserve every single one of them!" He let me rant.

"You are so fucking dramatic," he quietly sighed.

"Tell me not to buy a plane ticket to New York. Tell me to be an adult and not follow her."

"Is it that bad, Tony?" He questioned.

"Yeah. It is. Please give me reasons because I can't think of any."

"You can't drop your life for a girl, darling. I know you adore her. She does seem lovely. But doesn't she need to work too? You have a life there."

"No. I have a career. I didn't have a life until Bella walked through my door."

He clicked his tongue and snorted softly. "God, I really do hope someone talks about me the way you talk about her one day."

I sighed softly, swallowing back heavily. "They will. I promise. You're amazing."

"Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?" He asked quietly.

"Come. Please. Come to America." I felt fresh tears begin to well up in my eyes as I said the words.

"Tony, don't do this right now. You're just upset-"

"_Please?_"

"We can't keep doing this. Bella has got you sad, I know, but-"

"No!" I shouted through my tears. "No! This is not about her. I want you here with me. I don't understand why you don't want to be here. I don't understand why you didn't come in the first damn place. I need you," I begged him, my nose stinging as I cried. "I've always needed you."

"You obviously don't. Stop that," he said sharply.

"I do."

"You just sold a script all on your own-" he began, but I cut him off before he could continue.

"No, I fucking didn't! You know how much you've helped me. I couldn't have written half the goddamn thing if it weren't for you! You deserve a writing credit! And to be bloody paid-"

"Look! I'm sorry you've got your knickers in a twist because your new little girlfriend couldn't play anymore and had to run along home, but I'm not having this fight with you again! So, why don't you finish picking your panties out of your fanny and look for your head while you're at it? It's going to be impossible to take pictures of your pretty face with it shoved so far up your arse."

"Hey! What is your fucking problem?" I growled at him angrily.

"I'm sick of you thinking you can have everything you want just because you want it! Bella wanted to go home. If she didn't, she would have stayed. I'm sorry. It's sucks. But she's an adult. Just like fucking me. She's got a mind of her own, and you can't tell either of us what to do."

"I know that!"

"Then stop trying to bully me into something I've already told you no about many times. If I change my mind, I'll let you know. But for right fucking now, I'm going to go work. Like I believe you should as well."

"I'm not bullying you! I just don't fucking understand!"

"YOU DON'T GET TO DECIDE WHEN YOU'RE BEING A BULLY, ASSHOLE. THAT'S NOT HOW THAT WORKS!"

"Fine!" I snapped. "I am so goddamn sorry that I am bothering you. I thought we were as close as two people could be. Honestly, I must be fucking terrible to be around. Did you hate living with me so much?"

"No! You will not make this about you!"

"It must be me! I know you hate it there."

"I have responsibilities."

"Your father is a grown man."

"So are you. Now act like it. I'm going to work," he mumbled then hung up on me.

I threw my phone against the dashboard and cracked the screen.

"Fuck!" I growled.

Sighing heavily, I decided to go ahead and replace my phone. I had time to waste before the photo shoot anyway.

When the photographer told me it was going to be a more serious set, I was at least relieved I didn't have to fake a smile for anyone.

By the time I got home there was a text on my new phone from Jasper, "_Look, I'm sorry I'm an asshole. I'm just in a mood. I really am sorry you're upset. Things will work out for you and her. Just, maybe chill the fuck out with the dramatics, alright?_"

"_Yeah, alright,_" I sent back.

"_If not with me, with her. You'll scare her off. Just my advice. Not everyone is used to you like me._"

"_Yeah, probably solid advice. I'm tired. I'll talk to you later._"

"_Call me when you're ready._"

"Yeah," I sighed to myself, rubbing my hands over my face.

My head hurt, and I was tired, but I wasn't going to go to sleep. So, instead, I began to edit. Bella was in so many of the videos I had recently made. I seemed so stupidly obviously in love with her in them, I wondered if she knew already. She smiled up at me so adoringly, sweetly.

My phone buzzed beside me after a couple of hours. It was from Bella. "_Finally made it."_

"_Was your flight okay?" _I asked. I wanted to tell her that I missed her but resisted.

"_It was first class. Of course, it was great. Thank you. I was champagne drunk though. It makes everything seem nicer. How was your day?"_

I decided to be a little funny. "_Someone else took my picture. I didn't like it. I don't think they did it right. Come back and show them how."_

"_It's just because you're salty. I'm sure they were great pictures. You're too pretty for them to be bad. Be nice to the other photographers. They can't help it that they're not me," _she replied funnily.

_"I suppose you're right, but it doesn't mean I have to like it." _

She answered a moment later, "_I know. I'm sorry. I'm falling asleep. I'm really tired. I'll text you later."_

Even if I knew she had to be exhausted, I wasn't ready to stop talking to her. But Jasper was right. I needed not to be so dramatic, or I would scare her. It was the last thing I wanted. "_Okay. Sweet dreams, my darling."_

I edited for hours, my mind never even thinking about shutting off for a second. I got a lot of work done, but I wasn't exactly happy about the headache I was suffering from.

Somewhere along the way I gave up and sent Bella a text just to make myself feel better.

"_Oh, that's right. I forgot I was an insomniac for a moment there._"

An hour later she answered while I was outside smoking. It was the first time I really felt I needed it to get rest in a while. I had tried smoking earlier in the evening, but it didn't do anything but made me hungry. After laying in bed angrily for thirty minutes, I just decided to edit some more.

"_It's amazing what that much fucking can do for your sleep."_

I laughed at her answer, surprised to see her text so quickly. "_lol, True. Why are you awake?"_

"_I could ask you the same thing."_

"_Can I call?"_ I had to hear her voice. I was trying not to be dramatic, but I still needed to listen to her again. Even if it relieved my anxiety just a little bit. My phone began to ring in my hand.

"Don't you have things to do tomorrow? Don't you have to play video games or something? It's… three something there," she said lightly.

"Well, I got used to falling asleep with you in my arms. I tried going to sleep but... here I am, outside, smoking. What are you doing awake?"

"Just couldn't get comfortable. I've got really bad jet lag right now. And I can hear Alice in the shower getting ready for work so I'll stay up to say goodbye to her. She's got a day trip to Amish Country. I'm going to ask her to pick me up some jam and honey, I think. Cheese, probably too. I need to go grocery shopping today. Al lives like you when I'm not around," she explained to me.

"Poor girl."

"Right?" She teased.

"Well, I imagine it's not hard to get spoiled to your cooking though," I said to her honestly, a little smile on my face as I picked at the bottom of the leg of my shorts.

"When you come here, I'll cook for you a bunch."

"I would really love that. But, you don't have to."

"Well, I did promise you I would teach you how to cook if you came to my tiny kitchen… so…" She trailed off teasingly

"That you did," I chuckled. "Well, I look forward to your instruction, my beautiful little teacher." She giggled softly in return. There was a moment of quiet on the other end before she spoke again.

"The sun is starting to come up. You should see it. It's beautiful."

I decided to turn Facetime on. It was an excellent excuse to see her face again. Instantly Bella came into the frame. She was wearing a purple beanie over her thick curly hair. Her face was pale, and I could see by the purple under the eyes that matched her hat that she was tired.

"Damn, I am sexy," she joked.

She had just traveled several hours on a plane and then struggled to sleep for a few more. She was still the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. "You look adorable. Don't worry."

Bella stood from her couch and walked over to the window before fully opening the curtain to show me her view. It was breathtaking. The orange sun was rising slowly over the Manhattan skyline and making it glow a beautiful purple and blue. I could see why the view made her as happy as it did.

"What a thing to wake up to. It might be worth waking up early to take that ferry after all."

Bella softly giggled, "or, we can just stay out all night. That might be the better choice. This place isn't everything, but that view is."

I wanted nothing more for her to show me everything about her life in New York.

"Why don't you give me the house tour?"

She softly laughed at my request. "Okay, well, it'll be pretty short. This wall is basically just the window and my window seat which is actually all my clothes. And, there is my bed with all my shit still on it because I was too tired to do anything about it last night. The couch that I normally sleep on, because you know, I'm an adult. My desk. And in the corner we have our musical instrument collection," she said as she showed me a wide variety of instruments. "Which is dusty as hell at this point. I guess Alice didn't fuck around with them while I was away."

"Do you play an instrument?" Something sort of clicked in my brain and I realized there was something about that subject that I needed to remember.

"I play the piano and violin pretty well, the guitar and bass kinda sorta and banjo terribly because I'm a damn hipster, I guess. Alice can play the viola, bass, and piano as well. We all did music together. Rose, too. She did the flute and the piano a little, too."

It took a minute for what she said to all sink in. Then the beauty queen bit came to mind. She said she played the banjo and fiddle then. She was serious.

"Jesus, you are your own band. And you can sing, too." Then the thing I needed to remember popped into my head. "Wait, you said you had a degree in music, didn't you?"

"That I'm really not using. I minored in photography. I also studied a program at Julliard for a _hot_ second. It was only a class for a semester." She showed me her diploma on the wall. It was from New York University. NYU was actually a consideration of mine when I went to uni, but I decided to stay in Sydney. I wasn't ready to lose my family or my friends. NYU was a tough school to get into though. She must have been very talented.

"Why didn't you tell me you were so accomplished?"

Bella made a little face. "Because I'm not? Lots of people study music, and some can make a living off of it. I'm not passionate enough about it to do so. Or, good enough at it. I quickly became disillusioned of the possibility in my early _early_ twenties."

I had a million more questions I wanted to ask her. I had just basically learned my girlfriend was a hundred times cooler than I initially thought.

"Were you in a band or anything?"

She bit her lip as she scrunched up her nose a little, shrugging her shoulders barely in the frame. "Uh… I guess you could say that. I was a part of a few different orchestras at different times. Mainly in school. Not like any rock bands though. I haven't been in any a few years though."

"You'll have to play for me one day." I had already heard her sing and knew she had an amazing voice. I couldn't imagine what other talents she was hiding from me. Actually, she hadn't hidden her musical prowess, I just hadn't paid enough attention.

"Mm, let me practice first," she said with a small smile as she walked towards some folding doors. "This is Patricia's room."

_I thought her roommate's name was Alice. _

And then a very fat fluffy cat jump into frame and literally shrieked at Bella's head.

"Oh, wow. She's loud."

"She's a lying ass whore who has been fed this morning. Don't yell at me, Patty Cat. I see the crumbles in your bowl," she said in a baby voice to the cat as she delicately rubbed its chin. Obviously, the cat loved it and purred in happiness.

"She's been fed!" Someone said faintly on Bella's side.

"I know," my girlfriend answered before rolling her eyes with a little smile. "She's loud, too."

Bella obviously walked somewhere just a few feet away. It was a small apartment. Then her kitchen came into view. It was half the size of my smallest bathroom. All of my closets were literally bigger.

"Did I wake you?" A petite woman with curly black hair asked over a mug, the words barely mumbled out.

"Nope."

"Hello," I said when I realized I was being introduced.

"Oh! Good morning! Nice to meet you. I've heard nothing about you," she said way too cheerfully. Bella sort of rolled her eyes again from beside her, shaking her head a little.

I couldn't help but laugh as I took another hit. "Well, I've heard a lot about you." Bella obviously loved her best friend very much. And I loved that about her. It's something we had in common, though I wasn't as vocal about as she was. I missed Jasper so much though that when I talked about him, it hurt.

"Oh, no. I'm sorry. Don't believe any of her lies," Alice said funnily.

"So, you're both like this?" I deadpanned in return.

"Ha! Yeah, we are. All three of us actually. Rosalie, too," her friend laughed. "Alright, I need to go pick up the van. I love you. Have a good day." Alice kissed Bella's cheek, and my girlfriend leaned into it, rubbing a quick hand over her cheek almost mindlessly. "I look forward to talking about you in great detail later."

"Hopefully good things."

"She will tell me everything. _Everything_." Well, it seemed fair. I told Jasper everything about her. I was surprised she hadn't yet. Bella was a quiet person though, and we had been so closely wrapped up in each other over the last few heavenly weeks.

"Mostly good," Bella smirked before calling out to her friend before she left, "text me when you get there. I have things I want you to pick up for me!" I didn't hear her answer.

There was a scraping noise as my tired little girlfriend sat down at her white kitchen table in the corner. "Mr. Cullen, you're going to be terrible tomorrow if you don't get a few hours of sleep. Go to bed."

"But, you won't be there," I sighed. "Alright. You are correct, Ms. Swan. Go back to bed for a while. You look exhausted."

"I will. I'm just going to eat the rest of this box of doughnuts first."

That was not a terrible idea. I was going to probably finish off the last of the Little Debbies we had shared those first videos together.

"Okay. Sweet dream."

"You too, sugar. Text me later when you get a chance. I already miss you."

I smiled to myself as she said the words. I was glad that she said them first. I needed to hear them more than I realized. "I miss you, too. I will, I promise. Goodnight, love."

Quietly in the darkness, I finished my joint before heading into the house. Two swiss cake rolls and a nutty bar later I crawled into a bed that still smell like Bella. Her perfume was on the sheets and ingrained into my pillows. There were still specks of glitter from the Halloween party everywhere in my bedroom. I pushed my face into the pillow that she used the most and tried to pretend she was beside me so I could fall asleep.

It didn't work.

**This chapter goes with 24 of IP.**

**Just to let everyone know, this will be the only update this week. **

**So, to let you know what's going on… I'm going to be real honest with everyone and say that I'm not enjoying posting on ffn. (Why WELL, I'll share my response to a review here: **So, why am I fed up with ffn? Oh boy, a whole host of reasons. Let's start with the fact that it lacks a whole host of functions that are pretty basic. The ability to add pictures, links, files, music. The ability to turn functions off if you want to. Why isn't there a thumbs up/like/kudos button? A share button? If there is a mistake and you have to fix it, it takes up to FOUR hours to replace it. I am all about fixing my mistakes and knowing possibly hundreds of people are reading a simple typo I've already corrected is is, if the site is working at all. FFn regularly eats words in chapters, eats reviews, and sometimes it eats whole chapter notifications. Case in point, it did not send out a notification for one of the last chapters of my story The List and the views for that chapter are half of the ones before and after it. Meaning that up to half of my readers did not read one of the final chapters of my story. That. Is. Not. Cool. (Hello straw, meet camel.)** ) I was hoping that the site would have improved some in the past ten years, but it hasn't. I'm not sure if I want to continue publishing on it. At the very least, this story. **

**I won't be taking anything down. For now at least. (Don't worry, even if I take it down from ffn, you won't lose access to it. More on that in a second.) **

**That being said, I still want to continue writing and publishing this story, and others, for everyone to read if they want to. I have up to chapter 82 written of Imperfect Pictures and have outlined the rest of years chapters, still updating 3 times a week. It would hit on their one year anniversary in the story. I have ideas for literally years and wish to continue the serial format. I just don't feel like ffn is the best place to do that. I've been struggling to find a way to continue to share my stories in a way that I enjoy and my wonderful husband has helped me with that by buying me a website. (It was my anniversary gift.)**

**I don't even know if I'm forever done with FFn, but I'm going to be real honest and say I'd be DEVASTATED if I got to say chapter 150 of Imperfect Pictures, almost a million words with this one trailing behind, and ffn decided to enforce the rules randomly and take it down and I didn't have it anywhere else. Just because someone decided they didn't like my specialty flavor of lemonade and didn't realize that we all have the magical ability to press X and move along. I just may need a nice long break to work on other things. Because even though I'd be forever annoyed if it got taken down if I had it up somewhere else, I'd probably just repost it with all the lemons cut out with big sarcastic notes about going to the website to read the uncensored version because I guess we just can't nice things... instead of giving up. I'd like to have the better back up before I get too far. I will continue to add and work on my site to add more stories and functions. Like alerts. I just want to get a few more chapters of Imperfect Pictures posted before I add them so I don't harass people with notifications while I'm catching up. Same with Snapshots. My goal is to get to chapter 40 of IP by the end of this week so it shouldn't be long and I promise I will update everybody when that happens with another chapter and all the important information. I just can't work on ffn and my own site at the same time. Once I get IP all caught up, I will put up PS.**

**I'm working really hard on my site if you'd like to check it out. I'm going to post everything there for y'all to enjoy (for free, of course) and at the bottom of every chapter there will be downloads if you want to keep the story in your own files. It doesn't have everything yet, but I'm working on it as fast as I can. (It's not bad for a week's worth of work) I'd just honestly like to keep writing for myself, for fun, and ffn makes it not fun. At all. **

**My site is JeskaWood dot com. You can also follow me on facebook- Jeska Elizabeth. **

**Thanks for reading. **


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